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NA Members Request Fair Decision on
Vietnam Shrimp Lawsuit
Vietnam's National Assembly deputies on November 24 sent a joint letter to US congressmen, calling for sympathy in relation to the difficulties facing Vietnamese shrimp farmers and a favorable influence on the Department of Commerce (DOC) during the ongoing shrimp lawsuit. "We believe that the anti-dumping lawsuit will not improve the economic condition of the US shrimp industry while it could negatively impact US consumers and cause losses of many American jobs strongly relating to the shrimp imports," they said. "The US shrimp lawsuit against Vietnam will not only undermine the bilateral trade relations between Vietnam and the US but also jeopardize Vietnamese shrimpers," they added. The unreasonable tariffs have already had a serious impact on Vietnam's economy and shrimp farmers. After the DOC preliminary determination, Vietnam received disproportionately high duties, which placed it at a competitive disadvantage to other countries. They proposed that US congressmen had influenced the DOC on resolving the lawsuit. Together with the new information and data supplied by Vietnamese companies, the deputies asked that the DOC adjust the duties appropriately. In related news, Eight US Congress members have sent letters to the Department of Commerce (DOC), urging it to ensure a fair and balanced final decision concerning the shrimp anti-dumping case against Vietnam and five other countries. On July 6 this year, the DOC said in a preliminary ruling that Vietnam sold shrimp to the American market at below-market prices and its exporters must be subjected to import duties, ranging from 12.11% to 93.13%. The DOC is set to decide final dumping duties for China and Vietnam on November 29 and for Thailand, India, Ecuador, and Brazil by December 17 this year. The US International Trade Committee will then rule whether these countries dump their shrimp into the US market or not by early December. (VoV Nov 24, The People Nov 24 p8, Young People Nov 25 p16, Pioneer Nov 25 p2, Vnexpress Nov 24) US Backing Vietnam to Join in WTO, Says Ambassador The US government is actively supporting Vietnam to push up its progress to gain access to the World Trade Organization (WTO) as soon as possible, said US Ambassador Michael W.Marine to Vietnam yesterday. In the first brief conference with local newspapers since he took office in Hanoi in September, the diplomat announced that the US would closely work with the Vietnamese government to help the latter realize its set target to join in the WTO. He, however, declined to forecast the exact time that Vietnam can be admitted to the global trade body. Regarding his work in Vietnam, the ambassador revealed that he has three main priorities during his term. Firstly, he said, he will inspect the effectiveness of ODA disbursement that the US government has provided to its Vietnam counterpart. To date, the latter has received $60 million of ODA from the former. The second is to study the HIV/AID prevention project in Vietnam under the framework of a program that the US President George W. Bush announced in June. The program enables a list of 15 key countries to receive US assistance worth $15 billion to fight the spread of AIDS over a five-year period, said Ambassador W.Marine. The US has doubled its financial aid to Vietnam in the field to $18 million this year from $9 million in 2003. The funding is expected to increase to $25 million in 2005, Marine announced. He also expected to work with Vietnam in other fields such as legal and army cooperation, narcotics prevention, which have yet to be promoted over the past time. It is the first time Marine, who has worked as a diplomat for 29 years, will take up office as an ambassador. His latest post was deputy ambassador at the US Embassy in China. Vietnam and the US did not reach an agreement on the former's bid to the WTO during the first negotiation talks held between the two countries on October 25-28. The talks were reported to have "made progress" but there was still "a large gap" between the two sides. (Youth Nov 25 p15, Pioneer Nov 25 p13) Lawmakers Vote to Make State Audits Agency Autonomous Deputies of the National Assembly, the highest legislative body in Vietnam, voted on November 23 to render the State Auditing Agency an independent body established by the NA and operating under the draft Law for State Audit. Over 68% of delegates wanted the office to operate independently. The voting result will lay a foundation for the NA to examine and contribute opinions for the draft law, which is expected to be approved in 2005. Earlier during the debate, Chairman Nguyen Van An said the agency must be a professional organization whereas its current legal status was like that of a general department within the Government, not a State management agency. He suggested two options for the organization: either let it remain affiliated to the Government or redraft it as an organization mandated by the NA but operating independently. One delegate, Nguyen Thi Kim Thoa from the southern province of Binh Duong, said that as Vietnam's highest legislative body, the NA should closely monitor public spending. The incumbent NA needs a State Auditing Agency to keep track of public finance and report back to the legislature. Thoa argued that placing the auditing house within the jurisdiction of the National Assembly would help settle any public financial problems, including losses from capital development investment. A delegate from the southwestern province of Tay Ninh, Ding Thi Phuong, said the current legal status of the government watch dog keeps it from executing its proper functions aid assigned tasks. She said that approval of the Law on Auditing will help the NA and the Government to better manage and monitor the State budget and public assets. Under the country's constitution and the Law on the Organization of the National Assembly, the NA has the right to establish its own auditing office. The Law also says such an office must be independent to ensure transparency and fairness when certifying the financial status of State organizations. A delegate from the northern province of Cao Bang, Hoang Thi Le, insisted that the serious losses to capital construction investment could be attributed to a lack of transparency and fairness in State Auditing. The State Auditing Agency must be independent to remedy the loss of funding. (VNS Nov 24 p2, Youth Nov 24 p1) Vietnam Bans Broadcast of Performance by Fleeing Singers Vietnam's Ministry of Culture and Information on November 22, issued a temporary ban on the broadcast of any songs performed and written by two overseas singers for unruly distorting Vietnam's situation. All songs sung by former musical stars in Vietnam, Thu Phuong and Bang Kieu, and compositions written by Bang Kieu will also be excluded in all public performances and publications such as CDs, VCDs, and videos, the national cultural watchdog instructed. The decision follows a series of contorting expressions by the two singers, who fled to the US early last year, that were used by reactionary forces to create slanders that the Vietnamese government and State hampered artistic performances. Their actions are illegal and should be punished, ministry officials said. In mid-February this year, the Performance Art Department under the ministry already sent a proposal to its governing body seeking such strict sanctions on these two singers as well as Quang Huy, Thu Phuong's husband. Thu Phuong, 34, and his husband quit the Youth Theatre in Hanoi without an early announcement and traveled to the US without a legal permit in February 2003. In an attempt to seek permanent residency in the US, she was said to have turned her back on the local audience who brought her to fame in mid 1990s, when she publicly voiced concerns about the instability in Vietnam and described her self as a "freed bird" after leaving Vietnam. She also decided to part with her husband Quang Huy and instead met with an anti-Communist overseas Vietnamese, in order to stay in the US. Similarly, Bang Kieu, a male singer well-known for his special female voice-like, believed to have openly disregarded and boycotted art development in Vietnam and the local audiences when he spoke in a radio program run by overseas Vietnamese in Houston in the US state of Texas in January 6. He is also said to have earlier sung the anthem and waved the flag of the former US-backed Saigon regime during his shows in the Philippines and Canada. Kieu moved to live in the US after his marriage with overseas Vietnamese singer Trizzi Phuong Trinh in early 2003. Local media have criticized both singers for letting themselves become a pawn for a few overseas Vietnamese who followed the defeated US army officers that left the country in 1975, and now continue to fiercely oppose the Vietnamese communist government. Returning trips to Vietnam by overseas Vietnamese artists and overseas trips by local artists are now still closely watched by Vietnam's cultural authorities for fear of dissident movements. (HCM City Police Nov 25 p13, Pioneer Nov 24 p2) Vietnam Strengthens Efforts against Corruption Ahead of CG Meeting Vietnam is to join with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in holding an anti-graft seminar prior to a meeting of international donors for the country in early December. It hopes to show off its strong commitment and efforts against rampant corruption in order to attract more foreign investment. The two-day seminar opened yesterday in Hanoi, just a few days ahead of the 12th Consultative Group Meeting for Vietnam, which is scheduled to take place on December 1-2. Speaking at the event, Vietnamese officials stressed that Vietnam's criminal law already considers corruption acts as serious crimes punishable by strict sentences, including a death penalty. Vietnam is also on the way to perfect its legal regulations in order to be able to approve the UN Convention Against Corruption shortly, according to Nguyen Van Kim, a state inspector. The country's highest legislative body, the National Assembly, will decide on the agenda for the construction of an anti-corruption law to replace the existing anti-corruption ordinance in one or two days, he added. Vietnam will also consider setting up an economic intelligence agency with the purpose of unearthing vague financial resources of erring officials, said Pham Truong Giang, a senior official in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The seminar, which will continue today, is seen as a good opportunity for Vietnam to exchange experience with other countries as well as prepare for the approval of the UN Convention against Corruption, said experts. Vietnam signed the Convention on December 10, 2003. (Pioneer Nov 25 p15, Youth Nov 25 p4, Young People Nov 25 p2, Econet Nov 25 p2, Capital Security Nov 25 p1, Labor Nov 25 p4) Vietnam Launches Webpage for Agent Orange Victims Today The Vietnam Association of Agent Orange/Dioxin Victims has announced that it will inaugurate its website www.vava.org.vn today. The webpage will provide information about the lawsuit of Vietnam Agent Orange victims against the US chemical manufacturers and the lives of people suffering from exposure to the toxic substance throughout the country. During the Vietnam War, the US army sprayed around 80 million litres of defoliants over many Vietnamese cities and provinces between 1961 and 1971. To date, three million Vietnamese people have reportedly suffered from health problems as a result of exposure to these toxic chemicals. Three Vietnamese Agent Orange victims lodged the first complaint on January 30 against 37 US chemical firms, asking for compensation for damages caused by the defoliants to their health. The first pre-trial hearing was held on March 18, but the second hearing has been delayed until November 3. Fifty-one percent of the total 987 likely voters in the US agreed that Agent Orange factories should pay for the Vietnamese citizens who were affected by Agent Orange while 34% said the victims should not be compensated. It came as the results of a poll conducted by Zogby International from November 12 through to November 13. (Youth Nov 24 p9)
Four More Firms Allowed to Conduct
Audits for Listed Companies
The State Securities Commission (SSC), Vietnam's stock market regulator yesterday approved four more auditing firms operating in the country to provide their services for listed firms and securities companies in the Ho Chi Minh City Securities Trading Center and securities trading companies. They include Auditing and Accounting Services Company (AASC), Auditing & Financial Consultant Company (AFC), Auditing and Informatics Services Company (AISC), and Ernest & Young. Previously, three firms including Vietnam Auditing Company (VACO), Auditing and Consultant Company (A&C) and foreign firm KPMG had got licenses from the SSC. The Vietnam stock exchange now has 25 listed stocks and one fund certificate with total market value as of today at around VND3.8 trillion ($242 million) and nearly 200 governments bonds worth VND24 trillion ($1.5 billion). |
