Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress"
Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Order Code RL31470
June 21, 2002
Nicole J. Sayres
Analyst in Asian Affairs
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
The Vietnam-U.S. Textile Agreement Debate:
Trade Patterns, Interests, and Labor Rights

“Possible Approaches Concerning a Vietnam Labor Provision
No Labor Provision. Many argue that there is no need for a labor provision
in any textile agreement, including a U.S.-Vietnam textile agreement. In addition to the arguments mentioned above regarding the potential negative effects on workers and consumers, opponents of a labor provision contend that the BTA in itself will improve labor rights by promoting economic development, foreign investment, and the rule of law in Vietnam.

Other critics of a labor provision point out that Vietnam is already working with the United States to improve its labor situation. Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed during former President Clinton’s visit to Vietnam in November 2000, the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MOLISA) and the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) agreed to a program of technical cooperation in six areas: employment services, social insurance, employment for people with disabilities, industrial relations and labor law, child labor, and HIV/AIDS workplace-based education. To date, projects in four of those areas have been approved and are underway, with an industrial relations project awaiting approval of MOLISA and the HIV/AIDS project in development. Some contend that through its labor cooperation with the U.S. prior to the BTA, its numerous labor programs with the ILO and other foreign governments, and its recent revision of the Labor Code, Vietnam has already demonstrated its commitment to improving labor standards. These critics conclude that a labor provision is not only unnecessary, but that it could potentially distort the current efforts to improve worker rights in Vietnam.

As discussed above, however, labor rights supporters view a labor provision
both as leverage to level the competitive playing field and as insurance against the use of unfair or substandard labor practices to bolster exports.”