Change your ways, or no WTO, US
warns Vietnam By Aaron Glantz
and Ngoc Nguyen
HANOI - Vietnam's attempts
to enter the World Trade Organization (WTO) have
been blocked by what the country's negotiators say
are unacceptable new demands by Washington that
the socialist country change the way its economy
works - more than it already has.
So far,
Vietnam has embraced capitalism cautiously to
lessen the gap between rich and poor among its 77
million people, 69% of whom still subsist on
agriculture.
But having formally applied
to join WTO in 1995 and begun negotiations in
earnest in 2002, the communist country had high
expectations of making an entry when the global
trade body holds
its
next ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in
December.Ordinary Vietnamese recognize that the
economy is changing though many, such as Ninh, a
52-year-old rice farmer, have not have heard of
Vietnam's bid to enter the WTO.
As she
spoke, she scooped the fruits of this year's
harvest into two giant baskets, which she carried
on her shoulders. The work is hard, intense labor.
And when the harvest is over, she'll take most of
the rice home to feed her family. She sells just
enough to pay the government tax. She wants her
children to have a chance to study and not work on
the farm.
"I want them to have good jobs
to make a living," she said. "To work in the
factory is better, but we don't have the
opportunity to do that right now. My neighbors are
leaving farming. They are moving to find factory
jobs or work in construction."
For the
past 15 years, Vietnam has been changing the way
it does business, though perhaps not to the extent
Washington would like to see it.
It has
embraced market economy, attracted factory jobs
from overseas, and towering new buildings have
sprung up in the capital and in Ho Chi Minh City.
In 2002, foreign investors poured more than US$1.2
billion into Vietnam, and the country seems all
set to enter the world's official club of
capitalist nations.
Yet, the
administration of US President George W Bush has
been pressuring Vietnam to eliminate subsidies and
state-owned enterprises. Talks with negotiators
from Washington have broken down over what Vietnam
maintains are "new conditions" introduced in
recent rounds of talks.
But new conditions
are not the only issue. Last month, US ambassador
to Vietnam Michael Marine criticized the country
for not fully implementing a bilateral trade
agreement that was negotiated in 2000 and also for
resorting to "half measures".
"The US
clearly understands Vietnam's abilities and
clearly understands that we cannot meet their new
conditions," the country's lead WTO negotiator,
Ngo Quang Xuan, recently told Vietnam's Youth
newspaper, accusing Washington of a "lack of
goodwill".
The US has a different spin on
the negotiations. "American business wants a
viable deal on this accession," said Adam Sitkoff,
executive director of the American Chamber of
Commerce in Hanoi.
"The American business
community wants a deal that's good for Vietnam's
future, not only for companies like Citibank and
AIG [American firms] but also for Vietnamese
business. If you look at what WTO ascension is
about, it's about creating a climate that will
make people want to invest and feel secure about
putting their money here."
But some
observers complain that such changes could
undercut what's been one of the most successful
poverty-reduction campaigns in the world. The
British voluntary group Oxfam International
reports that in 1993 fully 58% of Vietnam' s
people were impoverished.
By 2002, that
number had been cut in half. State-owned companies
transport chemicals and fertilizers to rural
families, 45% of whom are still in poverty.
In April, Oxfam released a report entitled
"Do as I Say, Not as I Do: The Unfair Terms for
Vietnam's Entry to the WTO", which noted that
Vietnam is being forced to cut tariffs and
subsidies twice as much as neighbors such as
Thailand, the Philippines and Nepal. Those
countries are already members of the world body.
"For any country, joining the WTO is like
jumping into a fast-moving river in the dark
without a paddle," said Steve Price-Thomas,
Oxfam's spokesman in Hanoi. "It's hard to know for
sure what will happen but the important thing is
if you jump into a fast-moving river at night you
want to make sure you've got a life belt, a
flashlight, know which way you're headed, that
there's no rocks, etc. So we hope that Vietnam is
ready and prepared for life in the club of the
WTO."
Oxfam believes that Vietnam should
enter the WTO on its own terms. A slow transition
to the market economy has helped Vietnam become
the world's second-largest rice exporter, and
Oxfam is concerned that if Vietnam can't protect
its rice farmers, they'll be hit hard once the
country joins the WTO.
Back on a farm in
Bac Ninh province, Truong, 38, carried rice from a
diesel-powered thresher into his front yard. He
said he makes less than 10 cents a day tilling the
fields. But he and his wife also work as day
laborers - and after 15 years of hard work they
were able to build a two-story home in 2002.
Truong sees how more factories are being
built in the countryside and he thinks that if
Vietnam joins the WTO, the government will take
his farm. He said he has no problem with that -
provided he's fairly compensated.
But
Truong is concerned he won't have a job after his
farm is taken away. So, he said, if he does not
get a fair price, he and his neighbors will
protest.
