The two countries completed their 12th round of bilateral negotiations on May 13, reaching consensus on all issues, including Vietnam's subsidies and the time-frame for the U.S. application of non-market economy status to Vietnam, after one week of intense discussions in Washington D.C, said Deputy Trade Minister Luong Van Tu, head of the Vietnamese negotiation delegation, as saying.

"The two sides have reached consensus on all issues... Many sensitive issues like garment and textile, and subsidies have been solved," Tu said.

He said the United States has yet to recognize Vietnam's market economy status.

"Even many WTO members have not been recognized having market economy, and Vietnam is no exception. However, Vietnam is a small country, so the time needed for recognition will be shortened," he said, predicting that Vietnam can become a WTO member by the end of this year.

Vietnam and the United States are widely believed to officially ink the conclusion agreement when U.S. Trade Representative-designate Susan Schwab attends the APEC (Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation) Economic Ministers' Meeting slated for June 1-2 in southern Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam, which applied for WTO membership in 1995, started substantial bilateral negotiations with the United States in 2002. The United States was Vietnam's last partner out of a total of 28 WTO members, including Australia, Japan, China and Brazil, which required bilateral negotiations.

The WTO involves such issues as tariffs, non-tariff barriers, subsidies, trade remedies, trade-related investment measures, and financial services. One key element of Vietnam's accession to the global trading club will be U.S. Congressional approval for Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) for it.

If the U.S. Congress did not have enough time to approve the PNTR status for Vietnam, the country could still join the WTO in late 2006, said Nguyen Dinh Luong, head of the Vietnamese negotiation delegation for the Vietnam-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement.

"Vietnam and the United States are likely to have to solve some minor issues before the United States grants the PNTR status to Vietnam. All will be solved gradually," he stated.

According to Luong, Vietnam should soon publicize WTO-related commitments it has made to the United States to prepare for the post-WTO era; tell residents and enterprises about potential opportunities and challenges posed by the commitments; and get public opinions about measures to develop Vietnam's economy more quickly with quicker and deeper international economic integration.

"We have to frankly analyze Vietnam's current economy because our economy is operating differently from the world economy. Besides, commitments made to the United States this time are important commitments and ties which require us to self-regulate in the coming time to be compatible with international rules," he stated.

According to local economic experts and officials, entry into the world trade body will offer Vietnam more opportunities, especially in terms of trade, investment, and technology transfer, but pose challenges for the economy's development, as it has to follow the WTO's regulations, including those on tariff reduction, service market openness and intellectual property protection.

To survive the harsh competition, Vietnam should map out concrete measures to enhance the capacity and competitiveness of its agriculture, industry and service sectors.

The experts said the country should focus on adjusting the agricultural structure, improving farm products' competitiveness, developing production infrastructure, formulating more policies in lines with international practices, and intensifying manpower training.

Vietnam should encourage the establishment of agricultural cooperatives and large-scale farms which involve the whole circle of production from growing, harvesting, to processing, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Diep Kinh Tan said recently, noting that most of farming activities in Vietnam are done by individual households, which makes it difficult for mass application of advanced technology.

For industry, Vietnam will facilitate development of private enterprises, enhance production of items with high competitiveness like textile, garment, footwear and coal, and raise products' competitive edges.

Regarding service, Vietnam has to work out suitable integration roadmaps, build more legal documents, and improve services' quality, the local experts said, adding that some important fields like telecommunications and banking should be given priority.

For telecommunications, the industry needs to learn experiences from China in building technical standards, which are suitable with both international commitments and local enterprises' development, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan said recently.

Source: Xinhua