CODEL BAUCUS SCORES POINTS WITH HCMC AND CAN THO LEADERS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 001092 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, USAID/ANE, EEB/TPP/BTA/ANA, OES/STC USDOC FOR 4431/MAC/AP/OPB/VLC/HPPHO USTR FOR BISBEE TREASURY FOR CHUN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EAGR ETRD EFIN SOCI PGOV PREL OTRA OVIP VM SUBJECT: CODEL BAUCUS SCORES POINTS WITH HCMC AND CAN THO LEADERS HO CHI MIN 00001092 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Political, business and civil society leaders in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC),Can Tho City and Long An Province all warmly welcomed Senator Max Baucus during his December 18-20 visit to promote bilateral relations, advance U.S. trade policy and increase educational cooperation. Ho Chi Minh City offered up the Reunification Palace -- an honor normally reserved for visiting heads of state -- as the venue for the Chairman of the Finance Committee to meet with HCMC People's Committee Chairman and Central Committee member Le Hoang Quan. The Senator encouraged Vietnam to lift restrictions on U.S. beef and to improve intellectual property rights and labor rights quickly, as clear progress would support the country's applications for generalized system of preferences (GSP) and market economy status as well as its participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The Senator also challenged southern leaders to find ways to cooperate with U.S. universities, especially the University of Montana, to improve Vietnam's education system. Southern provincial leaders said new U.S. regulations for imported "catfish" could seriously harm Vietnam and called for the garment import monitoring mechanism to end. End Summary. HCMC Rolls out the Red Carpet... -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) warmly welcomed the December 18-20 visit of Senator Max Baucus and his delegation. People's Committee Chairman Le Hoang Quan hosted the Senator in the Reunification Palace's "Golden Room", once the receiving room for the Vice President during the building's time as the Presidential Palace of the Republic of South Vietnam. Chairman Quan lauded the senator's leadership role in granting permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to Vietnam, which paved the way for its accession to the WTO. Quan asked the Senator to once again support Vietnam, this time in its applications for generalized system of preferences (GSP) and market economy status, ending the Vietnam garment import monitoring mechanism and guarding against rules that would arbitrarily close the U.S. market to Vietnamese "catfish" (pangasius). The Chairman also noted the importance of ongoing bilateral investment treaty (BIT) and Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) discussions. ¶3. (SBU) Senator Baucus said that as Vietnam's financial and commercial center, HCMC's economy stands to benefit from improving worker rights, specifically by accelerating GVN plans to meet International Labor Organization standards. Similarly, improving intellectual property rights is important to modernizing the city's economy. In addition to adopting a trade policy consistent with World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) standards, opening Vietnam's market to U.S. beef from cattle older than 30 months old would benefit consumers in HCMC. In closing, Chairman Quan wished the delegation "a merry Christmas" and invited the Senator to visit the city center now decked out with Christmas lights and nativity scenes. ...and Saigon Pulls out All the Stops -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The Senator hosted a roundtable with economic, civil society and media representatives. The American citizen deputy managing director of one of the largest investment funds in HCMC said that the global economic downturn is driving down demand for Vietnamese exports and that foreign direct investment in Vietnam is slowing as well. Dr. Mai Hong Quy, Rector of the HCMC Law University, emphasized the importance of improving education to professionalize Vietnam's legal system and suggested partnerships between HCMC Law University and continuing education programs at U.S. law schools as one way forward. The pioneering owner of Vietnam's first private media company, Ms. Le Thi Phuong Thuy, explained that her Tri Viet Media company now concentrates on developing partnerships with foreign companies to provide content to Vietnamese television audiences, with plans to develop local content in the future; as a result IPR protection and understanding GVN sensitivities are key to her company's future. ¶5. (SBU) The HCMC American Chamber of Commerce echoed political and civil society leaders, saying that labor issues (e.g., the rise in the number of "illegal strikes"),the global economic downturn (especially its impact on tourism and investment) and the GVN's inclination to interpret its WTO commitments as "a ceiling rather than a floor" all give American businesses in HCMC heartburn. Nevertheless, the USAID-funded Support for Trade Acceleration (STAR) program has given U.S. companies HO CHI MIN 00001092 002.2 OF 002 amazing opportunities to review and comment on draft legislation, and to participate in Vietnam's ongoing economic reform. Can Tho and Long An Focus on Education and Trade Rules -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Making his way off the beaten track, Senator Baucus took his message of increasing education cooperation to Can Tho University in the Mekong Delta. Representatives of the University's 35 thousand-strong student body turned out to welcome the delegation to Can Tho University. The Senator told the students that the United States is the best place in the world to study and challenged them to find a way to study at an American university. We want more Vietnamese to come study in the United States, he told the students, adding that the USG is working to streamline visa procedures for students. Students and faculty alike stayed late into the evening to ask the Senator and his delegation questions especially about the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States and what this means for U.S. foreign policy. ¶7. (SBU) Also in the Mekong Delta, General Manager of Long An Foods (rice processing and export) Mr. Truong Van Anh and Chief Executive Officer of Hiep Thanh Foods (rice and pangasius processing and export) Nguyen Van Phan said that Vietnam's agriculture and aquaculture industries benefit from trade with the U.S. markets, both importing from and exporting to the United States. Both urged the United States to regulate the quality and safety of imports in ways that do not disrupt trade, adding that the modest gains to per capita income in the Mekong Delta (still less than Vietnam's average of 825 dollars per year) could be lost if the U.S. closes its markets to Vietnamese aquaculture (primarily pangasius and shrimp) exports. Comment: -------------- ¶8. (SBU) When the highest city official in HCMC wishes his high-ranking American guest "a merry Christmas" it is clear that Vietnam is changing, even on issues the GVN once considered sensitive. Senator Baucus is widely regarded as a friend of Vietnam because of his support for Vietnam's WTO accession and PNTR. As a result, southern provincial leaders from various facets of Vietnamese society were keen to meet him. While there is much economic anxiety in Vietnam, especially over the future of pangasius exports to the United States, the Senator's message on the need to improve trade rules, intellectual property and labor rights was well-received. End comment. ¶9. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Hanoi and cleared with the delegation. DICKEY