Vietnam and The United States Reach in Principle Trade Agreement

Today (July 25, 1999), negotiators from the US and Vietnam have arrived at an agreement in principle on the terms of a Bilateral Trade Agreement. The Agreement addresses issues concerning trade in goods and services, protection of intellectual property, and investment relations between the two countries. The two sides will now work to finalize the technical details in order to submit a formal agreement to their governments and competent bodies to approve. Enactment of the Agreement would mark a major step in the normalization of economic relations between the two countries.