Socialist Republic of Vietnam

by Michael Coleman.

If Nguyen Tam Chien seems a little obsessed with trade these days, it’s easy to understand why. As Vietnam’s ambassador in Washington, Chien is the diplomat charged with paving the way for congressional approval of a deal granting Vietnam “Permanent Normal Trade Relations” (PNTR) with the United States.

Trade normalization—strongly en-dorsed by the White House—could boost the economies of both nations and help heal mutual scars still visible from a war that ended more than 30 years ago.

During a recent interview at Vietnam’s embassy in an office building in downtown Washington, Chien mentioned the pending trade deal more than a dozen times.

“We hope to achieve full normalization and I want to emphasize ‘full’ normalization,” he said. “Full normalization is our common interest and a mutually beneficial goal, so I am very optimistic we can get it done as soon as possible.”

U.S. exports in Vietnam grew by nearly 25 percent last year, and the proposed trade deal would further open the door to U.S. exports of services such as telecom, insurance and finances, in addition to the goods already being sold there.

In exchange for PNTR and admission into the World Trade Organization, Vietnam would reduce its industrial and agricultural tariffs. U.S. officials supporting the deal also hope that the economic advantages for Vietnam will help improve political and human rights conditions for millions of people living in the Southeast Asian nation.

Since the United States and Vietnam entered into a bilateral trade agreement in 2001, two-way trade has grown exponentially, reaching $6.79 billion in 2005, according to the State Department.

Congressional approval of PNTR has been held up in part by an obscure law known as the Jackson-Vanick Amendment, a Cold War-era provision that requires U.S. trade partners to meet certain emigration and human rights standards. The provision has been waived for Vietnam in recent years, and most observers expect that to be the case this year, even if PNTR is not approved.

Other trade deals—including pacts with Peru and Oman (which recently passed the House)—also are also ahead of Vietnam in the congressional queue, making Vietnam’s approval less of a certainty this year.

Chien, who has been in Washington for five years this month, said he hoped Congress would approve the deal before its August recess, although the chances for that happening appeared dim as of press time. It is possible, however, that Congress could ratify the deal in September or October, before the mid-term elections.

“Both sides need PNTR now,” Chien exclaimed with a broad smile. However, a moment later his visage appeared to take on a cloudy tone of uncertainty. “I am concerned now because of timing constraints,” he conceded.

Hanoi would like to join the World Trade Organization before it hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in November, which President Bush is expected to attend. In May, the United States signed a pact that would allow Vietnam to become a WTO member, the last hurdle preventing the nation from joining the capitalist club, although Congress must still ratify PNTR for the deal to go through.

Joining the Geneva-based organization has long been a major policy goal for Vietnam, particularly because Hanoi is eager to end U.S. quotas that limit the amount of textiles and apparel it can send to the United States. In preparation for possible WTO membership, Vietnam has changed the way its enterprises and investments are regulated. Under a new law, all companies—foreign, domestic, state-owned or private—are subject to the same rules and regulations.

“Vietnam is fast-growing, emerging market and I strongly believe we’ll bring great opportunity for American companies to do business in Vietnam, particularly after Vietnam [joins] the WTO,” the ambassador said. “This will be the final step toward full normalization of relations as a whole, but also of economic and trade relations between our two countries.”

Chien said that in addition to trade issues, the United States and Vietnam are actively working on a mutually beneficial military relationship. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Hanoi in June, making him only the second U.S. defense chief to do so since the end of the war. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was also expected to visit Vietnam in late July.

During his visit, Rumsfeld talked with Vietnamese officials about efforts to recover the remains of 1,805 U.S. soldiers missing in action in Southeast Asia since the Vietnam War. Specifically, the Pentagon has requested more assistance in searching Vietnam’s government archives for data on those missing in Laos and Cambodia.

The Pentagon has also offered Vietnam technical assistance in recovering the remains of more than 300,000 Vietnamese missing from the war. Chien said his country is very sympathetic to the plight of American families, but cautioned that it is important for the United States not to forget that Vietnam suffered many more casualties.

“From the beginning we did our utmost efforts to find American MIA and up to now,” Chien said. “Purely on a humanitarian basis, we understand the feelings of the Americans who have lost their beloved.”

He added: “It’s very difficult,” reminding Americans that Vietnam “lost 3 million.”

Although the POW-MIA issue is a tragic chapter in both countries’ histories, Chien said that from mutual sympathy and grief, a new relationship has emerged. “I want to say the cooperation on MIA is the brightest chapter in our relations, but at the same time we want to see more and growing assistance from the U.S. side on MIA,” he explained. “We cooperated the best we could in the past and now we are continuing [that cooperation].”

Ironically, one of the reasons for Vietnam’s fast-growing tourism sector is the war that claimed 58,000 U.S. soldiers and more than 3 million Vietnamese.

Last year, more than 315,000 Americans visited Vietnam, some of which were U.S. war veterans who came to heal old wounds. “The majority were businessmen, but also many tourists and even veterans who brought their children to make new friends in Vietnam,” Chien noted.

The ambassador said his country has worked hard to make itself into an attractive tourist destination. “Tourism is very important to our development,” he said. “Vietnam is a country with a good location, rich history and a lot of beautiful beaches. All of this makes Vietnam attractive to the rest of the world.”

He said Americans—and everyone else, for that matter—are universally greeted with warmth and friendship by the people of Vietnam. “Our people look into the future not the past…. That’s been our philosophy throughout the history of our nation.”

Chien hopes that Americans will not only visit Vietnam, but also look optimistically toward future relations with his country. “It’s a very important period for the relations between Vietnam and the United States,” he said. “We’re trying our best on both sides to move the relationship into a new chapter.”

Michael Coleman is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

Source: The Washington Diplomat (www.washdiplomat.com)

Photo: Victor Shiblie