President of USVTC: "Say No to any sanction against Vietnam"


The US Vietnam Trade Council (USVTC) is a US organization which has a great deal of contributions to the development of economic and trade relations between the two sides, back to the days they negotiated the Bilateral Trade Relation (BTA) to date. Lao Dong Newspaper’s reporter interviewed Ms. Virginia Foote, President of USVTC, about the necessity of the accession to the WTO for the business of US and Vietnamese companies.

- Ms. Foote, what are the benefits of joining WTO for Vietnam?

"I am on the side of the poor farmer in Vietnam"

Dear Sir,

I am a Vietnam Veteran but I am not a senator. I do, however, think that what is happening regarding the catfish from Vietnam is terrible. I know that the Vietnamese people are an industrious people filled with honor and pride. I know this because I have been to Vietnam on two occassions. Once as a soldier and once as a visitor or tourist. Both times I was in Vietnam I was treated with dignity and respect. I applaud the Vietnamese people.

The `Free Trade' Fix Is In

The New York Times, July 25, 2003

The United States government has just added a final flourish of hypocrisy to its efforts to crush the Vietnamese catfish industry under a mountain of protectionism. The Vietnamese, after doing well enough to capture a fair share of the American market, have been declared trade violators deserving permanent, prohibitive tariffs by the United States International Trade Commission.

US keeps hefty tariffs on Asian partners


By Edward Alden in Washington
Financial Times; Jul 24, 2003


The US hit hard at two of its key Asian trading partners yesterday by locking in place hefty import tariffs on semiconductors from Korea and catfish from Vietnam.

The US International Trade Commission ruled unanimously in both cases that low-cost goods from the countries were hurting US competitors, which means tariffs imposed earlier this year will remain in place.

Elderly tell the US to stop interfering



HANOI (July 24, 2003)— Viet Nam’s lawyers and elderly citizens have issued statements coming down heavily on proposed US legislation that links aid to Viet Nam with human rights.

The Lawyers Association, "strongly" rejected the amendment to the Foreign Relations Authorisation Act, said it seriously breaches the basic principles of international law and brazenly interferes in Viet Nam’s internal affairs.

DOC's tax decision on Vietnamese fish fillets slammed


(07/22/2003 -- 21:08GMT+7)

Ha Noi, July 22 (VNA) - The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has ignored proper information on Viet Nam's "tra" and "basa" catfish rearing and export, aiming to levy an absurdly high import tax on Vietnamese "tra" and "basa" fish fillets, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Phan Thuy Thanh said on Tuesday as she commented on DOC's July 18 decision to raise the import tax on Vietnamese frozen "tra" and "basa" catfish fillets.

Seafood exporters association protests DoC’s unfair ruling

Nhandan.org.vn, July 22, 2003

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers on July 21condemned a decision issued by the US Department of Commerce (DoC) to again raise tariffs on imports of tra and basa fillets from Vietnam, saying it goes counter to the spirit of free trade.

"The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) is particularly irked by the July 18 DoC decision to even raise its tariffs higher compared with the previous decision on June 18," VASEP said in a statement.

The Great Catfish War

The New York Times, July 22, 2003

For Tran Vu Long, who lives atop his floating catfish trap on the Mekong River near the border with Cambodia, the recent biannual harvest day was not the joyous payday it usually is. Mr. Long, a 35-year-old Vietnamese catfish farmer, sold his flapping fish — 40 tons' worth, all painstakingly weighed and carried in bamboo buckets onto the trading company's launch — at a loss of some $2,000, a small fortune here.

Statement by Vietnam-US Association



The Vietnam-US Association issued a statement on July 16, protesting the approval of the US House of Representatives regarding some additional provisions of the Bill HR 1950 submitted by the Department of State. The statement is as follows:

Statement by VN's Foreign Ministry Spokesman on Smith Amendment

STATEMENT BY THE SPOKESMAN OF THE VIETNAMESE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

On 15 July 2003, the U.S. House of Representatives approved several amendments to the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of the 2004 – 2005 fiscal year, including one concerning Vietnam which imposes human rights conditions on and links them to non-humanitarian assistance to Vietnam.

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