PNTR with Viet Nam – among first priorities in US trade agenda

Speeding up procedures for the Permanent Normal Trade Relations status with Viet Nam to be realised in 2006 will be one of the first priorities of the US trade agenda, Trade Representative Susan Schwab said.

The remarks were made in a speech delivered on Nov.28 before the US Chamber of Commerce. Entitled “The Non-Partisan Imperatives for Trade”, the speech touched on specific aspects of the administration’s trade agenda for the 2007-2008 period, with first imperative being promoting the Doha Round.

Susan said that the US should strive for a multilateral agreement to open up new trade flows in agricultural goods, industrial products and services. “This could benefit all countries - large and small, rich and poor,” she said.

The US trade representative also urged the administration to overcome the “new partisan clash shaping up in Washington” to speed up the approval of state-of-the-art free trade agreements with other countries, of which Viet Nam stands at the top of the list, followed by Peru, Columbia, Panama, the Republic of Korea and Malaysia.

(Source: VNA)