Vietnam to Itself Decide on the Time to Join WTO, Says Mike Moore
To help enterprises further understand the advantages and challenges of Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and experience in the integration into the world economy, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) on November 16 hosted a presentation on WTO that was lectured by Mike Moore, former General Director of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), on the occasion of his visit to Vietnam.
On the sidelines of the talk, Vietnam Business Forum's reporter held an interview with him about issues relating to Vietnam's bid to join WTO.
1. Can you give some proposals to speed up Vietnam's bid to join the WTO?
Vietnam has marked a great progress in international integration, democracy, and the improvement of living standards, however, some sectors still need to be reformed. Vietnam will find difficulties in negotiations to join WTO if it has not yet strictly implemented intellectual property rights, and still retains the current structure of State ownership and the sluggish reform of State-owned enterprises.
Vietnam should also focus on the development of information technology, one of the most useful tools in supporting other sectors of the economy. Like Cambodia and Armenia, Vietnam has many patriots living and working abroad, so it is necessary to utilise the professional human resource they can provide by calling for their cooperation and contributions to the country.
Vietnam holds an important position among the world coffee and rice markets, therefore, it can increase export volumes of these products to Japan, Germany and the US despite high taxes, if it knows the best ways to produce, process and sell such products.
All active moves taken by the Government to improve the business environment will create a strong belief for both local and foreign investors, although some shortcomings will still remain.
2. What are your comments on Vietnam's progress of opening up the markets of insurance, finance and banking?
Foreign investors are dubious about Vietnam's banking system and they do not want to come and operate here because they do not want to compete in an unhealthy market. Therefore, the country should be prudent and try to build up a more transparent, open finance and banking system for the benefit of local people such as offering preferential credits from large banks to encourage young people to pursue higher, postgraduate training courses.
In my experience, many Vietnamese people still meet and talk about how many gold taels they possess. This means that local people are not familiar with opening bank accounts because they do not believe in their banking system.
3. From January 1, 2005, the WTO will remove all restrictions on garment and textile quotas among its member states and the move will create a fierce competition for Vietnam, particularly from China and India. Can you give some advice to local producers in this field to help overcome the challenge?
Vietnamese garment and textile firms now account for a small market share on the world market and will find it difficult to compete with China and India, the two outstanding producers on the world garment map. To surpass these difficulties, local enterprises need to pay special attention to the quality and trademarks of their products. Importantly, the experience of other countries shows that modernising the garment and textile industry is the first important step in their modernisation process. If we do not care about facilitating the industry, we will certainly fail. For example, the garment and textile industry of New Zealand, my homeland, could not compete with those of other countries, causing around 25,000 labourers to lose their jobs.
4. Can you predict when Vietnam will become a full-fledged member of WTO?
Vietnam will join WTO when it feels it is suitable to do so. If the country discovers that there are less benefits and opportunities from the accession, it will not want to join. However, I affirm that Vietnam has gathered enough conditions to become a WTO member.
Vietnamese
