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Senate Democrat urges action on Vietnam trade bill

Posted on: Tuesday, 27 June 2006, 10:18 CDT

By Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress should approve a trade deal with Vietnam before President George W. Bush goes there in November to meet Asia Pacific leaders, a senior Senate Democrat said on Tuesday.

"My strong view is that we must pass PNTR (permanent normal trade relations) ... as quickly as we can," said Sen. Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat. "I think it would not look good for the president to go to Hanoi empty-handed."

U.S. business groups would like the Vietnam trade legislation to be passed before the August congressional break but Baucus indicated that could be difficult because it is subject to amendments, which could take more time than trade agreements that move through Congress under fast-track procedures.

U.S. and Vietnamese trade officials signed an agreement in late May clearing the way for Hanoi to join the World Trade Organization. The pact lowers Vietnam's tariffs on U.S. industrial and farm goods and removes other barriers that block U.S. companies in sectors such as telecommunications, retailing, banking, insurance and energy.

As its part of the deal, the United States must approve permanent normal trade relations with Hanoi instead of providing normal trade relations on a renewable basis as it does now.

The PNTR bill could attract a number of amendments related both to Vietnam and other trade issues. Some lawmakers would like Hanoi to make more progress on religious rights before upgrading trade relations.

However, Baucus said most members strongly supported the legislation and did not want to "load it up with amendments that will sink PNTR."

Hanoi would like to be a WTO member by the time it hosts the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting in November.

Failure to approve PNTR would not block Vietnam from joining the WTO, but it would bar the United States from gaining the increased market access it has negotiated as part of the bilateral accession pact, Baucus said.

Approval of PNTR would complete a reconciliation process between the former war enemies that Bush's father, former President George Bush, began in 1991, Baucus said.

Source: REUTERS

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