[Vnbiz] Vietnam's WTO accession talks slowed but entry still possible this year, officials say

[Phan, Tai]

  Vietnam's WTO accession talks slowed but entry still possible this year, officials say  
The Associated Press

Published: October 9, 2006
 
 
GENEVA Vietnam's attempt to enter the World Trade Organization has been held up over how the communist country will implement tariff reductions on certain goods and services, and whether it has amended legislation to fully comply with global commerce rules, officials said Monday.
 
Eirik Glenne, the Norwegian ambassador who chairs Vietnam's accession talks, said an agreement permitting the Asian nation to join the WTO would not be finalized in time for this week's meeting of the trade body's general council.
 
That means Hanoi will fail in its long-standing effort to join the WTO before it hosts a meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in mid-November, an event U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to attend.
 
Still, a final deal is taking shape and Vietnam could wrap up an agreement in principle in time for the meeting.
 
"For the first time, we have in front of us the complete package of documents representing Vietnam's terms of membership to the WTO," Glenne said. "Clearly this working party is now very close to completion."
 
Vietnam and the U.S. finished final bilateral market-access negotiations in May. Trade officials have said, however, that some work remains to be done on translating those deals into detailed commitments, which the country would apply to trade with all 149 WTO members.
 
Minor issues such as the trade in spirits are still outstanding. The working group is also working on completing a multilateral report that includes Vietnam's commitment to make its laws, rules and regulations comply with WTO agreements and to satisfy other members.
 
Glenne said it was still possible to complete an accession deal for Vietnam in time to call an early November meeting of the WTO's general council.
 
Once Vietnam's membership has been approved, the country then has to ratify the deal. It could become a full member - the WTO's 150th - after a further 30 days. That would make early December the earliest it could join the Geneva-based body.
 
Truong Dinh Tuyen, Vietnam's trade minister, said in July that the country has brought in 24 new laws and numerous regulations, including commercial, enterprise and intellectual property laws, and pledges to implement WTO agreements on sanitary measures and technical barriers to trade immediately, rather than the country's original request to delay those for two years.
 
He claimed, however, that Vietnam was being asked to make greater commitments than current members in a similar position, such as a commitment to scrap agricultural export subsidies immediately, even though it is a low-income country.