AMTAC Urges Obama Administration To Reconsider Vietnam's Participation In TPP
Textile World
October
16, 2012
The
American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC) has sent a letter to U.S.
Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk urging the Obama Administration to
reconsider participation by Vietnam in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
currently being negotiated by the United States, Vietnam and eight other
countries — including Canada, which officially joined the partnership last week
— located around the Pacific Rim, with Mexico poised to join possibly later this
month. The letter calls into question "Vietnam's ability and willingness to
serve as a reputable trading partner worthy of the preferences envisioned in any
TPP."
The letter cites, among other evidence, the latest annual report titled "List of
Goods Produced by Child or Forced Labor," released last month by the U.S.
Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs The report added
Vietnam to a list of countries that use child and forced labor in apparel
production activities.
Several other grounds are also outlined, including Vietnam's status as a
single-party state with no competing political parties; its lack of press
freedom; the preponderance of state-owned enterprises in its economy; lack of an
independent, transparent judicial system; and systematic human rights abuses
including suppression of free expression and association, encouragement of
activities associated with human trafficking, and other abuses.
The letter continues:
Despite these glaring and unacceptable shortcomings, Vietnam has made enormous
market access demands of the United States and other TPP participants. At the
same time, they have been virtually unwilling to consider even minimal changes
to their economic, judicial, and political systems necessary to make them a
reputable preference trading partner. Their intransigence has almost single
handedly brought the entire negotiation to a standstill. We believe that the
challenges confronting Vietnam in transitioning to a transparent and market
driven economy, instituting reasonable foreign investment safeguards, and
eliminating abusive labor practices are too great for Vietnam to digest at this
point. Their refusal to negotiate in good faith is a direct result of their
unwillingness to address the serious economic, political, and moral concerns
listed above.
The letter concludes by stating: "We strongly believe that Vietnam should be
asked to step back from the negotiation until such time as they make marked
improvement in these key areas. To make them beneficiaries of the lucrative
market access benefits that will certainly be contained in the TPP would amount
to a condoning of their unacceptable behavior in the various areas identified
earlier."