Rob Portman has unveiled a bilateral agreement that will pave the way for Vietnam’s entry into
the World Trade Organization (WTO). The pact came under immediate fire from US textile
interests.
Portman announced an agreement in principal that would be a major step toward Vietnam’s
accession to the WTO. It calls for a reduction in tariffs and nontariff barriers on US industrial
and agricultural products aimed at the Vietnam market. Hailing the pact as a historic step in our
bilateral relationship, Portman said Vietnam recognizes the need for economic reform and
liberalization.
Under the agreement, the United States agrees to remove all import quotas upon Vietnam’s
accession to the WTO in exchange for the removal of trade barriers to exports entering Vietnam.
Textile lobbyists in Washington see the agreement as a victory for Vietnam at the expense of US
textile workers and pledged a major effort with Congress to review options that will protect their
interests.
Jim Chesnutt, president and CEO of New York City-based National Spinning Co. Inc. and chairman
of the National Council of Textile Organizations, said, “The agreement is a victory for unbalanced
and job-destroying trade policy and a severe blow to US textile manufacturers and their workers.”
He predicted a major flood of heavily subsidized imports that among other things could imperil the
Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement.
Auggie Tantillo, executive director of the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, said
the deal is a disaster for US manufacturing and the US textile industry in particular. He expressed
the fear that the agreement will replicate the one with China, which he said has provided
advantages to China that have enabled it to run roughshod over US companies.
While textile manufacturers voiced their concern over the agreement, Laura E. Jones, executive
director of the New York City-based United States Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel,
hailed it as a historic pact that has tremendous benefits on two fronts. She added that importers
will look to place more orders in Vietnam, providing American consumers with more choices, and the
agreement will help create capital with which Vietnamese will be able to purchase more American
goods and services.
Jones said the agreement will bring Vietnam under the rules of the international trading system,
and its textile and apparel products will be controlled by multilateral rules and market forces
rather than unilateral quotas. Vietnam’s textile exports to the United States have been under
quotas since May 2002. She said the agreement is transparent and reasonable, and it responds to the
concerns of those who are worried about potential unfair trade advantages. Jones added it also
helps to eliminate an atmosphere of uncertainty created by a threat of resumed quotas.
Vietnam currently is the seventh-largest supplier of textile and apparel products to the US
market.
May 1, 2006
