Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Ha Noi, May 4 (VNA) -- U.S. business leaders in Viet Nam yesterday warned that any move to delay submission of the trade treaty between the two countries to the Congress would undermine bilateral relations, says VNS.

It would also damage U.S. influence in Southeast Asia, said Peter Ryder and Tome Siebert, chairmen of the American Chambers of Commerce in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The Amcham Viet Nam leaders criticised the new U.S. Trade Representative, Robert Zoellick, for delaying action on the Viet Nam-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement.

Mr. Siebert pointed out that the BTA, signed by both countries in July 2000, was not a "free trade" agreement like others the U.S. had signed recently. It merely gave Viet Nam the same normal trade status already granted to over 130 countries.

Mr.Ryder recalled that in 1991, former president George Bush laid down a "road map" of conditions Viet Nam had to meet before the U.S. would open its market.

Viet Nam's diligent efforts to meet all of these conditions included helping the U.S. find the remains of soldiers still missing in action from the American War.

Last month, Viet Nam lost nine of its own soldiers in a helicopter accident on such a mission.

"Is this how the U.S. Trade Representative proposes the U.S. honour its part of the deal?" Mr.Ryder asked.

Siebert said the trade pact would grant U.S. companies unprecedented access to the Vietnamese market.--VNA