Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05HANOI72
2005-01-10 09:20:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Hanoi
Cable title:  

WTO ENTRY A PREREQUISITE FOR ARTICLE 98 AGREEMENT,

Tags:  ETRD PREL VM KICC WTO 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

100920Z Jan 05

ACTION STR-00 

INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AID-00 CIAE-00 COME-00 INL-00 DODE-00 
 DS-00 EAP-00 EB-00 EUR-00 E-00 FBIE-00 UTED-00 
 VC-00 H-00 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-00 JUSE-00 LAB-01 
 L-00 VCE-00 NSAE-00 OES-00 OIC-00 PER-00 SP-00 
 TRSE-00 FMP-00 DSCC-00 PRM-00 DRL-00 NFAT-00 SAS-00 
 SWCI-00 /001W
 ------------------A153BE 101013Z /38 
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 6170
INFO USEU BRUSSELS
AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
UNCLAS HANOI 000072 

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

STATE PASS USTR EBRYAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD PREL VM KICC WTO
SUBJECT: WTO ENTRY A PREREQUISITE FOR ARTICLE 98 AGREEMENT,
VIETNAM SAYS

REF: 04 HANOI 3269

UNCLAS HANOI 000072

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

STATE PASS USTR EBRYAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD PREL VM KICC WTO
SUBJECT: WTO ENTRY A PREREQUISITE FOR ARTICLE 98 AGREEMENT,
VIETNAM SAYS

REF: 04 HANOI 3269


1. (SBU) Summary: The GVN has transfered responsibility for
negotiating an Article 98 agreement from the MFA to the
Ministry of Justice. MOJ lawyers, with the encouragement of
the Minister, are actively tackling the task of obtaining
internal consensus on the agreement. However, the GVN fears
other WTO members might hinder Vietnam's accession if it
agrees to sign an Article 98 agreement with the United
States. As a result, GVN officials say that "no amount of
urging" will motivate the GVN to sign before Vietnam
clinches its WTO membership. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Following up on our earlier delivery of the draft
agreement to the MOJ (reftel),political specialist spoke to
Dr. Nguyen Cong Hong, the MOJ officer tasked with
shepherding the Article 98 agreement through the GVN
bureaucracy. Dr. Hong said that Minister of Justice Uong
Chu Luu is "personally interested" in the issue and has
instructed Dr. Hong to arrange an interagency meeting for
the second half of January to discuss the Agreement with
relevant line ministries. "There are no obstacles (to
signing an agreement) anywhere within the government," Dr.
Hong said.


3. (SBU) However, Dr. Hong said that Vietnam will not be
able to sign an Article 98 agreement with the United States
before it completes its bid to join the WTO because "Vietnam
has to gather support from all WTO members for its accession
bid, and signing the agreement with the United States would
just make some of the countries unhappy." No matter how
much the United States might "urge" Vietnam, an Article 98
agreement will have to wait for Vietnam's WTO entry, Dr.
Hong said, because "joining the WTO is Vietnam's top
priority." It is an issue of timing, not substance, he
concluded.


4. (SBU) Comment: This is the most explicit confirmation we
have had from the GVN that external pressure is the cause of
GVN foot-dragging on an Articl 98 agreement. Previous
interlocutors at MFA (which had responsibility for the
Article 98 agreemet deliberations before the handoff to MOJ
in lat 2004) have suggested that the culprit is the EU, nd
the EU Delegation Ambassador admitted to Ambasador
Burghardt in July 2004 that the EU had been lobbying Vietnam
against concluding an agreement with the United States.
While we doubt that te EU would actually veto Vietnam's WTO
bid in retaliation for Vietnam signing an Article 98
agreement with us, the GVN apparently feels it is unwise to
take any chances. Perhaps the one benefit of the current
state of play -- that the GVN's concerns are about timing,
not substance -- is that getting to "yes" on an Article 98
agreement is now a policy decision we can raise at high
levels without GVN interlocutors attributing the delay to
GVN working-level technical issues. End Comment.
MARINE


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