A Quiet and Accomplished Man

 

In an online interview, Vice Minister Luong Van Tu was asked, after having conducted several rounds of negotiations and now being sometimes known as “Mr WTO”, does he have any uneasiness? With a smile, Mr Luong Van Tu said: “WTO accession is the fruit of economic renovation, the political will of the Party and government, the legal reform of the National Assembly and especially supported by Vietnamese businesses and people. After 11 years of long negotiations involving many officials of the Party and government, we have now successfully achieved what the people need.”

 

Mr Tu recalled some incidents and difficulties in the course of negotiation. He said: “In negotiation when we want an early accession and the other side is not ready, diplomatic activities should continue to gain some agreement. At the 10^th meeting in Geneva, while most of the participants in Hong Kong had supported Vietnamese accession some remained unprepared for it, and we had to conduct untiring bilateral negotiation to gain their concurrence.”

 

“I remember every meeting because each tested my own endurance. Each party had its own demand. They consistently asked Vietnam to open the market for their exports. For instance, they asked Vietnam to reduce import tax rates from 20 per cent down to 0-5 per cent for their beef and pork. In that case, we could no longer raise cows in Vietnam.” Mr Tu said.

 

“In my dealing with them, no matter more or less friendly, they all upheld their national interests,” Mr Tu concluded. He recalled that some friendly countries remained intransigent even when Vietnam offered most reasonable terms, making it difficult to continue negotiations.

 

Hard negotiation is important, but economic development and legal reform are decisive. His statement recalled the precedents of Vietnam in the past. Geneva Conference (1954) and Paris Conference (1973) after long negotiations could only conclude with the victory at Dien Bien Phu and the failure of Hanoi bombing.

 

The strong economic growth in two decades of renovation and a big market of over 80 million people make Vietnam attractive to many world economies. While other countries wished to gain more in the negotiation, they also wanted an early conclusion, to enter the promising market. The legal requirements were also a difficulty in the early stage. However in recent years, this has become a promoter of WTO accession.

 

Mr Tu disclosed that Vietnam is the first country in WTO to have legal commitments amended and approved before accession. He recounted a story in 2004 at a seminar on Vietnamese law development. A Japanese Ambassador at the WTO remarked that Vietnam had to amend and adopt over 100 laws and ordinances to be acceptable for WTO. If the Vietnamese National Assembly could approve five laws a year, it would take 20 more years. However, on November 7, 2006 at Geneva, when Vietnam become a WTO member, the same Ambassador was happy to note that Vietnam has completed amendment of 25 out of 26 laws and ordinances required, and he concluded that the WTO will be better positioned, with Vietnam as the first country having legal framework completed and amended even before accession.

 

During the long years of negotiation, like other members of the negotiating team, Mr Tu was always concerned about how Vietnamese businesses could survive in direct competition with experienced foreign partners. He himself was Director of Generalexim 1, General Export-Import Company of the Ministry of Trade. In the centrally planned economy and the early 1990s, the company was consistently a leader in import-export activities. However, it would be more difficult with growing freedom of trade in Vietnam. With his experience, he made great efforts in the negotiation for the interests of Vietnamese businesses, especially in the service sector.

 

As the Vietnamese service sector is still weak compared to other countries. The Vietnamese negotiation team tried to prolong from one to five years, the road map, as it is applied to poor and less-developed countries instead of for developing countries. It will help Vietnamese businesses in the transition period.

 

Nonetheless, he has full confidence in Vietnamese businesses successfully entering the global game. He said, ”Young Vietnamese entrepreneurs have developed very fast. It is the speed of the 21^st century. I still remember in the 1990s, the Ministry of Trade discussed at length how to attain an export value of US$1 million. Nowadays, some private companies have export values of US$100 million a year. Many Vietnamese groups and sectors are expanding. I firmly believe that Vietnam can overcome the challenges”.

 

The negotiation for Vietnamese WTO accession has concluded, however his negotiation career continues. Today, the quiet man takes on a new job. 30 countries are negotiating for WTO membership and he leads the Vietnamese team to negotiations protecting Vietnamese interests and expanding commodity and service markets for Vietnam. In addition, the Doha Round is also waiting for him. He considers it a duty to the country, and a successful experience for himself.