US embassy cable - 05HANOI1285

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001285 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND EB/TPP/BTA/ANA JBELLER 
STATE PASS USTR FOR EBRYAN AND GHICKS 
USDOC FOR 4430/MAC/ASIA/OPB/VLC/HPPHO 
GENEVA FOR USTR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, PREL, VM, WTRO, WTO 
SUBJECT: Vietnam Wants to Conclude WTO Negotiations Before 
PM Visit 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  In a meeting June 1, speaking on behalf 
of Prime Minster Phan Van Khai, Vice Foreign Minister (VFM) 
Vu Dung told Charge the GVN hopes to conclude WTO 
negotiations or achieve a "breakthrough" with the United 
States during the bilats June 13-16 in Washington.  To that 
end, Vietnam plans to send five Vice Ministers to Washington 
to assist with the negotiations.  The VFM also highlighted 
National Assembly efforts to finish relevant legislation in 
accordance with WTO requirements.  VFM Dung repeatedly 
emphasized the importance of the PM's upcoming visit to the 
United States and said the GVN wants to make the WTO 
negotiations part of the success of that visit. End Summary. 
 
PM Views Visit, WTO As Very Important 
------------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) At the request of the Foreign Ministry, Charge met 
with VFM Dung on June 1 to discuss U.S.-Vietnam bilateral 
WTO negotiations in the context of the upcoming visit of PM 
Khai to the United States.  (Note:  We rarely meet VFM Dung, 
who, among other things, is in charge of MFA administrative 
issues.  MFA's other three Vice Ministers are either out of 
town or could not be pulled away to deliver this urgent 
message.  VFM Dung conducted the meeting entirely in English 
and seemed well briefed on WTO issues.  End Note.)  VFM Dung 
said that the PM had personally asked him to meet with the 
Charge to convey the PM's thoughts on his visit and the 
status of WTO negotiations.  According to Dung, the PM has 
stressed to the Government the importance of his visit to 
the United States.  The visit comes at a crucial time for 
the two countries and the world is watching to see how the 
United States and Vietnam proceed from here. 
 
3. (SBU) One issue the PM particularly wants to focus on, 
VFM Dung said, is Vietnam's WTO market access negotiations 
with the United States.  The tenth meeting of the WTO 
Working Party on Vietnam's accession just concluded in 
Geneva.  Many participants, including the United States, 
commended Vietnam for its efforts, multilaterally and 
bilaterally, VFM Dung said.  The National Assembly is 
currently in the middle of its "longest session ever," is 
focused entirely on legislation relevant to WTO accession 
and recently provided copies of a number of draft laws to 
the WTO Secretariat for comment.  Vietnam has concluded WTO 
negotiations with eight WTO members and expects to conclude 
with an additional eight members by mid June. (Note:  There 
are rumors that Vietnam and South Korea will announce 
conclusion of their bilateral agreement this week.  End 
Note.) 
 
4. (SBU) With respect to U.S.-Vietnam WTO negotiations, VFM 
Dung said that although there are still some differences 
between Vietnam's offer and the United States' request, the 
GVN has resolved to improve the quality of the next round of 
negotiations.  To that end, Vietnam will send a "strong 
team" to the United States for the bilats June 13-16.  Vice 
Minister of Trade Luong Van Tu will lead the Vietnamese 
delegation.  Vice Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen 
Bich Dat, Vice Minister of Post and Telematics Tran Duc Lai, 
Vice Minister of Finance Le Thi Bang Tam, and Vice Minister 
of the Office of Government Nguyen Quoc Huy will accompany 
him.  The PM is determined that Vietnam will do all it can 
to conclude negotiations with the United States during this 
round or at least achieve a breakthrough, VFM Dung said. 
 
5. (SBU) For Vietnam, the VFM continued, the Prime 
Minister's trip to the United States is very important both 
politically and economically.  The United States plays a 
leading role in the WTO and conclusion of bilateral 
negotiations with the United States will help Vietnam 
conclude its bilateral negotiations with other WTO members 
and become a full-fledged member of the world economic 
community.  Vietnam is seeking "sympathy and understanding" 
from the United States because Vietnam is a poor, developing 
country.  One of the WTO's principles is not to force 
developing countries to make commitments that go beyond 
their capacity.  In Vietnam's case, implementation of the 
U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement has proven the 
benefits of trade liberalization.  However, at the same 
time, Vietnam's capabilities are still limited.  One of the 
GVN's goals for WTO accession is to promote positive, 
sustainable development for Vietnam. (Note:  Deputy Prime 
Minister Vu Khoan made a similar appeal for sympathy to the 
American business community during a meeting in Ho Chi Minh 
City June 1. End Note.) 
 
U.S. Supports Vietnam's Accession 
--------------------------------- 
 
6. (SBU) The Charge reaffirmed U.S. support for Vietnam's 
WTO accession, noted that the USG also considers the PM's 
trip extremely important and said many USG agencies are 
working to make the PM's visit a success.  He lauded GVN 
efforts to send a strong WTO team to Washington and promised 
to report on the efforts the GVN is making to achieve 
progress in the bilateral negotiations.  The Charge added 
that the United States has consistently said that it will be 
difficult to conclude the bilats during the next round of 
negotiations, but assured the VFM that the United States 
will work with Vietnam to move the negotiations as far along 
as possible. 
 
MFN For Others A Problem in Some Areas 
-------------------------------------- 
 
7. (SBU) VFM Dung concluded the meeting by expressing some 
concerns about application of the WTO's MFN principle.  He 
acknowledged that when Vietnam reaches agreement with one 
member of the WTO on market access, it has to accord the 
same rights to other WTO members.  This will be difficult 
for Vietnam in some sectors, such as transportation, he 
noted.  While Vietnam would be happy to grant market access 
in this areas to the United States, it is concerned about 
having to grant the same access to other trade partners who 
might look to set up extensive transportation networks in 
Vietnam. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
8. (SBU) The GVN clearly is banking on making significant 
progress during the WTO bilats June 13-16 and remains 
determined to link success of the bilats to success of the 
PM's visit.  While it remains unclear if this "high-powered" 
delegation will be able to make necessary concessions in key 
areas such as telecommunications, we see the addition of the 
Vice Minister of Post and Telematics Tran Duc Lai to the 
delegation as a positive sign. 
 
MARINE