The public has been waiting in anxious suspense for the results of the 12^th negotiation round for more than a week, since Deputy Minister of Trade Luong Van Tu, heading the Vietnamese delegation, began talks in Geneva.

The 12^th multilateral negotiations with the Working Party on the WTO Accession of Vietnam and bilateral negotiations with the US, Mexico, Honduras, and Dominica have a great importance as the outcome of the negotiations will determine whether Vietnam is able to join the WTO this year.

The official from Vietnam’s Trade Representative Office in Geneva to the WTO, contacted by Tien phong newspaper said that the 12^th bilateral and multilateral negotiations have ended.

The official said the negotiations have brought Vietnam near to the finish. The Hanoi-based National Committee for International Economic Cooperation has also made an official press release stating that Vietnam and two partners, Dominica and Honduras, have wrapped up talks on Vietnam’s entry into WTO.

On March 22, 23 and 28, Vietnam held talks with Mexico, and most of the important matters have been settled. The two sides hope to deal with the remaining problems in a couple of weeks before finalising the bilateral negotiations.

The negotiations between Vietnam and the US in Geneva took place on three consecutive days, March 24-26. In particular, the two sides discussed substantial issues in opening the commodity and service markets, and multilateral issues.

Vietnam and the US have come nearer to the possibility of ending the talks soon. As such, if Vietnam and Mexico can wrap up talks in a few weeks, the US will be the only remaining partner Vietnam will have to deal with before joining WTO.

If Vietnam and the US cannot end the bilateral negotiations on market opening within two months, it would be procedurally late for the US Congress to approve PNTR (Permanent Normal Trade Relations) for Vietnam this July.

If that happens, it would be impossible for Vietnam to get official WTO membership this year. Hopefully, the two sides will resume the negotiations to wrap up the negotiations soon, paving the way for the US Congress to approve PNTR for Vietnam.

According to the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation, the 12^th multilateral negotiations with the Working Party on the WTO Accession of Vietnam took place on March 27.

Prior to that, on March 24, an unofficial session took place on March 24, where the representatives of the parties discussed three of Vietnam’s newly ratified laws, including the Common Investment Law, the Unified Enterprise Law and Commercial Law. Special attention has been paid to issues relating to state owned enterprises, rights to do business, and licensing in the fields of service, domestic taxes and subsidisation.

In the 12th round, the working party focused on four key issues, including: 1. reviewing Vietnam’s bilateral negotiation process 2. compiling laws 3. the draft report of the working party and 4. tentative working plans for immediate future.

Members of the working team have all highly praised the considerable progress made by Vietnam recently. Vietnam has built up the legal framework, wrapped up bilateral talks with most of the partners, provided documents and answered the questions of the working party.

The working party asserted that Vietnam’s bid to join the WTO has entered its final stage.

Source: vietnamnet