NATIONAL ASSEMBLY RATIFIES WTO PROTOCOL RATIFICATION AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 003014 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MLS STATE PASS USTR FOR DAVID BISBEE, RACHEL BAE COMMERCE FOR OASIA HONG PHONG PHO AMEMBASSY BANGKOK FOR USPTO JENNIFER NESS GENEVA FOR USTR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD WTRO ECON ECPS VM SUBJECT: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY RATIFIES WTO PROTOCOL RATIFICATION AND AMENDS DOMESTIC LAWS (U) THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. REF: HANOI 3012 (NOTAL) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On November 28, Vietnam's National Assembly (NA) voted 444-3 for a Resolution that ratifies Vietnam's World Trade Organization (WTO) Accession Protocol. Vietnam formally deposited its ratification in Geneva on December 12 and will become the WTO's 150th member on January 11, 2007. Vietnam's WTO commitments made "sufficiently clear" by the WTO accession documents shall take direct effect without the need for further implementing legislation. The NA tasked the government to submit for NA approval or independently enact additional regulations and implementing documents -- and revise existing ones -- in order to bring Vietnam's legal system into full compliance with its WTO commitments. In cases where Vietnam's laws are inconsistent with its WTO commitments, the latter shall prevail. An annex of the Resolution amends six laws by with specific WTO Commitments--Enterprises; Lawyers; Insurance Businesses; Promulgation of Legal Documents; and, Intellectual Property and Cinematography. End Summary. ¶2. (U) On November 28, Vietnam's National Assembly (NA) passed Resolution 71/2006/QH11, ratifying Vietnam's WTO Accession Protocol (reftel). The vote was 444-3, with two abstentions. Following the approval by State President Nguyen Minh Triet and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dzung, the Ministry of Trade informed us that Vietnam formally deposited its WTO ratification in Geneva on December 12, meaning that Vietnam will officially become the 150th WTO member 30 days later on January 11, 2007. ¶3. (U) In addition to ratifying Vietnam's WTO Protocol, the NA Resolution states that "sufficiently clear" WTO commitments (as detailed in the Protocol, the Protocol annexes and Vietnam's Accession Report) will take effect without the need for further legislation or implementing documents. That said, the NA recognized that further revisions or the drafting of additional legal documents (i.e., decisions, decrees or circulars issued by the GVN or various ministries) will be necessary. The NA Resolution thus also tasks the GVN, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuracy (the prosecutor's office) to review for submission to the NA, or to draft independently (as determined by Vietnamese legal custom),other legal documents that require amendment, supplement or new issuance in order to be consistent with Vietnam's WTO commitments. Furthermore, the Resolution clarifies that in cases where Vietnam's laws are not consistent with its WTO commitments, the WTO commitments shall prevail. ¶4. (U) The Resolution includes an annex directly applying WTO commitments made by Vietnam to supersede articles and clauses in six Vietnamese Laws. A summary of the changes identified in the annex are: -- LAW ON ENTERPRISES - The Resolution directly applies commitments made by Vietnam on the rights of limited liability companies and joint stock companies to stipulate organizational matters such as the structure and rights of shareholders' meetings in their charters. -- LAW ON LAWYERS - The NA's WTO Resolution identifies a number of commitments made on legal services in the Table on Commitments in Trade and Services, which shall prevail over Articles in the 2006 Law on Lawyers. The Annex contents also define the various forms of law firms and outline the rights and benefits extended to foreign lawyers and foreign legal practices operating in Vietnam. -- LAW ON INSURANCE BUSINESS - The Annex applies Vietnam's Commitments on Trade in Services with regard to reinsurance of liabilities, superseding existing requirements in the 2000 Law on Insurance Businesses. -- LAW ON PROMULGATION OF LEGAL NORMATIVE DOCUMENTS - The WTO Resolution applies Vietnam's WTO commitments to increase transparency in the drafting of legal normative documents. The new contents clearly identify publishing requirements and stipulate the relationship between the time of publishing and the time a legal document takes effect. -- LAW ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - Using language from Vietnam's Accession Report, the Annex outlines the obligations of broadcasting agencies to pay royalties and appropriate fees when using published works and recorded materials. HANOI 00003014 002 OF 002 -- LAW ON CINEMATOGRAPHY - Referring to Vietnam's commitments on removal of quantitative limits in its Access Report, the Annex lifts the quantitative limits on the number of films that can be imported. ¶5. (U) Post has sent the full text of the NA resolution and Annex to USTR and to the desk. ¶6. (SBU) Comment: The revisions made in the Annex of the NA's WTO Resolution are intended to address fully any inconsistent provisions contained in laws that the National Assembly has promulgated in the past. Still, the GVN continues to review its regulations and implementing documents to identify the changes that will be needed to make Vietnam's legal system fully consistent with its WTO commitments. According to a contact at the Ministry of Justice (MOJ),although no deadline is given in the Resolution, it is widely understood that this review should be completed by the time Vietnam formally accedes to the WTO. There is an ongoing discussion about the best mechanism to enact the necessary changes. Many lawmakers and the MOJ are in favor of issuing a single omnibus law addressing all of the required revisions. End Comment. MARINE