Reuters: New WTO rules might derail Vietnam-US trade deal

[Dao Van <daotb@yahoo.com>]

New WTO rules might derail Vietnam-US trade deal 09:47 p.m Oct 18, 1999
Eastern

By Dean Yates

HANOI, Oct 19 (Reuters) - The possible adoption of tighter global
trading rules over the next few years might scuttle a delayed trade pact
between Vietnam and the United States if it remains stalled for much
longer, sources close to the deal said. 

They said unless Hanoi signed the pact soon, thus giving the U.S. 
Congress time to approve it before America's political calendar becomes
dominated by next year's presidential election, the whole issue could be
sidelined until 2001. 

By that time tougher trading rules might have emerged -- if not on
paper, at least in discussions -- from a new round of global trade talks
that begin at a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting in
Seattle on November 30. 

That might prompt Washington to renegotiate key parts of the trade pact
-- which Hanoi has hesitated to sign -- in accordance with any new WTO
rules, the sources said. 

``It can be assumed that at some
point in time the document the Vietnamese have in front of them will be
essentially null and void and that there would not be a willingness on
the part of the United States to sign,'' one source told Reuters. 

``The reality is the document is
specially designed for Vietnam.  It is not a strong WTO document.''

The longer communist Vietnam has no trade agreement with the United
States, the longer it remains one of the few nations denied preferential
access to the giant U.S.  market.  The deal is also considered critical
to Hanoi's desire to join the WTO. 

Any lengthy delay is also likely to worsen sentiment of foreign
businessmen, who see the U.S.  trade agreement as a key to opening
Vietnam's economy and liberalising its investment regime. 

TRADE PACT MIGHT BE OVERTAKEN BY EVENTS

WTO ministers meet in Seattle from November 30 to December 3, where they
are expected to launch a fresh round of trade liberalisation talks that
may run for a few years. 

The focus is expected to be on agriculture, services, tariffs,
investment and labour and environmental standards.  Vietnam has been
criticised on all fronts. 

``Whatever they have negotiated
on the trade pact could be overtaken by events (at the WTO),'' said
Carlyle Thayer, a Vietnam expert at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security
Studies in Hawaii. 

``A hefty portion of the
document would still probably be intact but the most sensitive areas are
going to be even more sensitive,'' Thayer said by telephone. 

Washington has not commented on why Hanoi has balked at signing the
pact, and has said it is unclear when the country's leadership will be
ready to put pen to paper. 

The former enemies in the Vietnam War reached agreement in principle on
the pact last July, and U.S.  officials had expected it would be
co-signed and enacted by the year-end. 

But sources say the elite Communist Party politburo is still debating
the merits of the agreement. 

U.S.  officials have said the best-case scenario would be for the two
sides to sign the pact before Congress adjourns this year and have it
heard and approved early next year. 

Congress is scheduled to adjourn on October 29, although its session
might extend into November.  Analysts expect the deal to take several
weeks to move through Congress. 


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