Vietnam poised to join WTO
Vietnam on Thursday completed its protracted negotiations to join the World Trade Organisation, putting it on track to become the WTO’s 150th member.
Hanoi, which has been negotiating entry since 1995, has accepted tough conditions as the price of joining the world trade club and the more favourable trade terms offered to members.
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While Vietnam’s competitive clothing manufacturers will benefit from fewer restrictions on their exports to the US and Europe, other sectors in the still heavily state-dominated economy will face stiffer competition from foreign suppliers and the removal of many government subsidies.
Vietnam, with a population of 84m, has experienced rapid growth since economic liberalisation policies were put in place in the early 1990s, and is now the best performing economy in Asia after China.
Exports have grown by leaps and bounds, despite restrictions such as US anti-dumping duties on catfish imposed three years ago and a recent decision by the European Union to impose duties on Vietnamese and Chinese shoes.
Truong Dinh Tuyen, Vietnamese trade minister, said he hoped his country’s “extensive and far-reaching” WTO commitments would allow its economic momentum to continue.
The WTO’s governing council is due to endorse Vietnam’s accession terms at a special meeting on November 7. The Vietnamese National Assembly is expected to ratify the accords by December 5, and Vietnam will become a member 30 days after ratification is notified to the WTO.
But this will be after Vietnam hosts this year’s summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in mid-November.
In addition, although Hanoi concluded a bilateral market access deal with the US in May, Washington may not be in a position straight away to grant Vietnam all the trade concessions it would normally be entitled to as a WTO member.
This is because the US Congress has yet to approve “permanent normal trade relations” with Vietnam, after the legislation was held up by lawmakers fearful that easing curbs would lead to a surge in clothing imports.
At the insistence of the US and European governments, Hanoi has pledged an immediate end to all WTO-inconsistent state subsidies to the textiles sector and other industries. It has also agreed to special provisions as a “non-market economy” that will make it easier for trading partners to impose anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on its imports.
However, Washington failed to secure a reference to core labour standards in the final documents, after developing countries supported Hanoi’s objections.
越南即将加入WTO
越南昨日完成了历时长久的入世谈判，即将成为世界贸易组织(WTO)第150个成员。
越南的入世谈判开始于1995年。为了加入世贸组织，享受那些仅向成员国提供的更为优惠的贸易条款，越南政府接受了苛刻的入世条件。
虽然越南颇具竞争力的服装生产商将受益于对美欧出口限制的减少，但在这个国家主导色彩依然浓厚的经济体中，其它行业将面临外国供应商更为激烈的竞争，同时，许多政府补贴也将取消。
拥有8400万人口的越南，自20世纪90年代初实行经济自由化政策以来，经历了快速的经济增长，目前已成为中国以外亚洲表现最好的经济体。
尽管遇到了某些限制，如美国3年前对越南鲶鱼征收反倾销税，以及欧盟(EU)最近决定对越南和中国鞋类征收高额关税，但越南出口仍实现了跨越式增长。
