Vietnam, US End Eighth WTO Negotiation

Vietnam, US End Eighth WTO Negotiation

Vietnam and the US have finished their eighth round of negotiations on Vietnam’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Washington before Vietnam Prime Minister Phan Van Khai made a historic trip to the US on Sunday. 

During the talk lasting from June 13-16, negotiators focused their topics on matters viewed very differently by the two sides, but they managed to yield results in detailed debates, Vietnamese local newspapers reported. This has opened opportunities for both countries to accelerate the process of bilateral negotiations on Vietnam's WTO entry.

The two nations also agreed to increase efforts to settle outstanding issues in the next round of bilateral negotiations, which will be held in July.

The Vietnamese delegation was led by Deputy Trade Minister Luong Van Tu while the US delegation was led by Deputy US Trade Representative Josette Shiner Sheeran.

Vietnam has sped up WTO negotiations and achieved encouraging progress over past months. In June, Vietnam concluded bilateral talks with Japan and South Korea as well as technical negotiations with other partners in Geneva during the week ending June 17.

Also, gaps in bilateral negotiations with almost all remaining partners have been narrowed dramatically, paving the way for Vietnam to speed up the WTO negotiation process.

Last week, Vietnam Minister of Trade Truong Dinh Tuyen revealed that his country is attempting to complete all bilateral negotiations on its accession to the WTO before September, including those with the US and China with an effort to hit its target of participating in the Geneva-based trade body late this year.

Vietnam and the US held the first negotiation talk on the formers accession to the WTO last October and the second mid March this year. They, however, did not make agreements on Vietnam's opening of services, its import tariff cut and its legal reform programs.

• Youth, Thanhniennews.com