First published by Ohmynews on 2006-11-15 06:28 (KST)
President Bush will attend APEC meeting in Hanoi without PNTR
The U.S. House of Representatives failed on Monday to pass a bill granting permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to Vietnam. Although a majority of the members voted in favor of the bill, it did not achieve a required two-thirds majority. The final tally: 228 to 161.
Granting PNTR to Vietnam has been a priority in President George W. Bush's foreign policy for quite some time. He had hoped to bear the precious gift to Hanoi this weekend while attending the 14th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Business executives eager to do business in one of the fastest-growing markets in Southeast Asia supported the bill.
Many congressmen fear that an already existing trade deficit will widen once Vietnam is granted PNTR status. Exports to Vietnam are around $724 million; imports from Vietnam, around $6.4 billion.
The proposal faces numerous obstacles and has been held up in Congress for months. Some senators even threatened to block any trade bill for Vietnam.
To gain the support of textile-state senators, the White House committed to monitoring and making public on a monthly basis data related to textiles and garments imported from Vietnam. It also committed to investigating any signs of illegal dumping.
Predictably, the failure of the bill caused disappointment among those who supported it.
"Quite frankly, we were shocked. It does leave us wondering what this means for the new Congress in terms of trade," said Nicole Venable, director of international trade for the U.S. Chamber of Congress.
The chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham), David Knapp, said that he deeply regretted the vote because the community of American businesses had hoped that President Bush would go to Hanoi with PNTR.
Some went as far as to say that the failure of the bill on the House's first working day "could be a hint" of hard times to come for Bush's trade agenda, which includes a series of free trade agreements and global trade liberalization talks, especially after the Democrats take over as majority in January.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung called the outcome "very regrettable" and said that it ran counter the "interests and aspirations of the two countries, particularly the interests of U.S. businesses."
Republican lawmakers, though, have yet to give up. They plan to bring the bill up for another vote on Wednesday under normal procedures, which would require only a majority vote to pass. If there are no big changes, the bill is expected to be approved.
President Bush will attend APEC meeting in Hanoi without PNTR
The U.S. House of Representatives failed on Monday to pass a bill granting permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to Vietnam. Although a majority of the members voted in favor of the bill, it did not achieve a required two-thirds majority. The final tally: 228 to 161.
Granting PNTR to Vietnam has been a priority in President George W. Bush's foreign policy for quite some time. He had hoped to bear the precious gift to Hanoi this weekend while attending the 14th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Business executives eager to do business in one of the fastest-growing markets in Southeast Asia supported the bill.
Many congressmen fear that an already existing trade deficit will widen once Vietnam is granted PNTR status. Exports to Vietnam are around $724 million; imports from Vietnam, around $6.4 billion.
The proposal faces numerous obstacles and has been held up in Congress for months. Some senators even threatened to block any trade bill for Vietnam.
To gain the support of textile-state senators, the White House committed to monitoring and making public on a monthly basis data related to textiles and garments imported from Vietnam. It also committed to investigating any signs of illegal dumping.
Predictably, the failure of the bill caused disappointment among those who supported it.
"Quite frankly, we were shocked. It does leave us wondering what this means for the new Congress in terms of trade," said Nicole Venable, director of international trade for the U.S. Chamber of Congress.
The chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham), David Knapp, said that he deeply regretted the vote because the community of American businesses had hoped that President Bush would go to Hanoi with PNTR.
Some went as far as to say that the failure of the bill on the House's first working day "could be a hint" of hard times to come for Bush's trade agenda, which includes a series of free trade agreements and global trade liberalization talks, especially after the Democrats take over as majority in January.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung called the outcome "very regrettable" and said that it ran counter the "interests and aspirations of the two countries, particularly the interests of U.S. businesses."
Republican lawmakers, though, have yet to give up. They plan to bring the bill up for another vote on Wednesday under normal procedures, which would require only a majority vote to pass. If there are no big changes, the bill is expected to be approved.
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