A step backwards for US - Viet Nam relations

07/20/2004 -- 17:45(GMT+7)

Ha Noi, July 20 (VNA) - Some US parliamentarians and politicians have, for years now, hindered the normalisation of bilateral relations between the US and Viet Nam by cooperating with anti-Viet Nam elements among the overseas Vietnamese community in the US in mobilising and arranging with the US Congress and Government to pass legislations and moves against Viet Nam.

A veteran's letter to Congressman Christopher Smith

14 July 2004

In re: H. RES. 427; H. RES. 613; (S. RES. 343)

Dear Representative Christopher Smith,

I apologize for sending this to your office because I am not a member of your district. However, my purpose is to comment on two matters which reflect your membership on the Veteran’s Affairs Committee and the International Affairs Committee. The decisions made by these committees are far reaching and have great influence outside your district’s boundaries.

US Congressmen say no to Vietnam Human Rights Bill

Dear Friends:

The Vietnam Human Rights bill (HR-1587) was debated at the House of Representatives on July 13, 2003 and will be brought for a vote on Monday, July 19.

As a number of US Congressmen said in their statements, approving this bill will risk damaging relationship with Vietnam and bring about unexpected and unwanted consequences.

We urge you act in your capacity to prevent the approval of this bill.

Please find bellow statements of the Congressmen who rose in opposition to the bill.

Thank you very much for your support and friendship.

Representative Robert Simmons Remarks on Vietnam Human Rights Act

(House of Representatives - July 14, 2004)

Mr. SIMMONS. Mr. Speaker, I will place in the RECORD the text of U.S. Ambassador Raymond Burghardt's March 4 speech on U.S.-Vietnam relations, a letter from the American Chamber of Commerce Hanoi, and an article from the National Catholic Reporter following my remarks.

PM seeks more US investment in VN

HA NOI — US businesses should lift investment in Viet Nam in the coming years, said Prime Minister Phan Van Khai on Tuesday.

Khai told the president of the US-ASEAN Business Council, Charles R. Williamson, that trade between the two countries had progressed since the signing of the Bilateral Trade Agreement in 2000, although it did not yet meet potential.

The Prime Minister said Viet Nam considers the US one of its important partners and wishes to develop multi-faceted and long-term co-operation for the benefit of both nations.

Vietnamese paintings displayed in US

07/13/2004 -- 16:29(GMT+7)

Washington (VNA) - More than 30 paintings by 15 modern Vietnamese painters are on show at the Vietnamese Embassy in the US on the occasion of the 9th anniversary of the establishment of the Viet Nam-US diplomatic ties (July 12).

Present at the opening ceremony of the exhibition, which is entitled "Tradition and change: Current Vietnamese art", were hundreds of foreign diplomats, American people interested in Viet Nam's culture and arts, and overseas Vietnamese living in the states of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington.

Letter to US Congressmen


                                                                                                    July 12, 2004

Dear Representative:

I am writing to you to express serious concerns over the “Human Rights Act of 2004.” Before doing so, I would like to provide you with a summary of the achievements of the Vietnam-US relationship.

Foreign investors upbeat about Vietnam's economy

Changes have taken place in Vietnam; the national economy has been growing at a rapid rate, posting more than 7% growth annually, Senior Economist of the China-Economist Intelligence Unit Paul Cavey said at a roundtable conference on investment in Vietnam.

Citing changes in the legal system and regulations and improvements in the investment and business environment, economist Cavey noted the equitisation process of State-owned enterprises in Vietnam has been carried out strongly to allow private businesses to develop.

Vietnam vows to continue fight against US arbitrary shrimp taxes

nhandan.com.vn, Last updated: 17:5 - July 8, 2004

The Chairman of the Vietnam Shrimp Committee has insisted the US Department of Commerce (DOC)'s determinations that Vietnamese businesses dump shrimp on the US market as baseless, saying that Vietnam will continue its fight to make the DOC reconsider and adjust its unjust taxes levied on Vietnamese shrimp.

Talking with Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper recently, Mr Nguyen Van Kich, said the US import taxes on Vietnamese shrimp are arbitrary.

Vietnamese Embassy describes DOC's shrimp ruling as unfair


07/08/2004 -- 11:29(GMT+7)

Washington (VNA) - The Vietnamese Embassy in the US has affirmed that the US Department of Commerce (DOC)'s preliminary ruling that Viet Nam has dumped shrimp on the US market was not in line with the law on free and fair trade and that any import duty imposed on Vietnamese shrimp is irrational.

Responding to US media and US-based foreign news agencies, the spokesperson for the Vietnamese Embassy, Bach Ngoc Chien, emphasised that Vietnamese companies have not dumped shrimp on the US market.

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