US Ambassador to Vietnam Michael Marine has expressed his strong hope for the US Congress’s approval to grant the Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status to Vietnam in the next one or two months prior to US President George Bush’s trip to Vietnam in mid-November.
The envoy expressed his absolute optimism at a meeting with over 300 representatives from local departments, agencies, universities and businesses at the Friendship Organizations Union in Ho Chi Minh City on US-Vietnam relations on September 20.
The US diplomat also predicted that the PNTR grant will be ratified one week before Bush arrives for the APEC Summit in Hanoi, stressing that no obstacles will hinder the approval of PNTR with Vietnam by the US Congress in the coming time.
There will be a new investment wave from foreign investors to pour into Vietnam after the country becomes an official WTO membership within this year, the US envoy also said.
He also forecast that that US investment in Vietnam will rise to $2.6 billion in the next five years after Vietnam joins the WTO, warning of corruption and a lack of effective legal enforcement, which will be hindrance for the country’s ability to attract investment from the US and other countries.
Once joining the global trade club with PNTR approval, the most necessary and significant things requiring Vietnam to do ahead are to further boost economic and administrative reforms, the US envoy noted, adding the two Washington and Hanoi Cabinets should bolster the mutual understanding to bring the bilateral relationship in many fields to new height.
Washington is now willing to facilitate Vietnam in tackling or dealing with challenges such as epidemics, natural calamities, corruption and raising effectiveness of state management agencies, he said.
Michael Marine also highly spoke of significant achievements over the past 15 months since Vietnamese former Prime Minister Phan Van Khai visited the US, between the two administrations in many spheres of bilateral trade cooperation, healthcare, information exchange dialogues, assistance to people with disabilities, resolving issues related to bombs and mines and seeking the missing in action (MIA), and cultural and educational exchange activities.
Republic lawmakers of the US’s House of Representatives are scheduled to vote the trade bill for Vietnam November 13, the Congress Daily recently reported.
Only when the House’s Committees for Finance and Taxation approve will the entire House ratify the bill, it said.
Up to now these committees have not released any detailed working agenda to discuss the legislation. The delay is attributed to the fact that lawmakers of the House are now attaching greater importance to political issues rather than the trade prior to the US’s congressional election which is slated to take place November 7.
Currently, several members of the US Congress had expressed strong support for the ratification but some others had expressed fierce opposition fearing Vietnamese garments would dominate the US market.
Nevertheless, both the Senate and House of Representatives strongly supported granting PNTR to Vietnam.
(Source: Local News Agencies)
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