(2014-1062-F) 1996 Bilateral Trade Agreement negotiations with Vietnam

The materials in FOIA 2014-1062-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related material. The U.S. – Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement [BTA] was signed on July 13, 2000 in Washington by U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky and Vietnamese Trade Minister Vu Khoan, after nearly 4 years of negotiations. At a signing ceremony held at Blair House on December 10, 2001 the U.S. Vietnam-Trade Agreement went into force. The ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Trade Minister Vu Khoan and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick. The highest priority in our relations with Vietnam had been establishing a record of cooperation for accounting for POW-MIA’s from the Vietnam War. There had been no economic trade relations in two decades between the U.S. and Vietnam since the end of the Vietnam War. The U.S. began developing trade talks with Vietnam in the early 1990’s and the BTA helped reestablish economic relations. In 1995 the U.S. and Vietnam normalized relations, restoring full diplomatic ties. The BTA opened a market of nearly 80 million people to U.S. manufacturers who wanted to move operations into Vietnam. The BTA is focused on four major areas, trade in goods, and trade in services, investments, and intellectual property rights. The agreement reduced tariffs on goods and services, protected intellectual property, and improved investment relations. It opened Vietnam’s economy to U.S companies, created jobs, and greatly increased trade between the U.S. and Vietnam. For more information, please see the following websites: http://www.usvtc.org/trade/bts/summary EN.pdf: Summary of the agreement between the U.S. and Vietnam and Trade Relations and https://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/EOP/nec/html/RosenUS-VietBilat000713.html. Records responsive to this FOIA include cables, notes, memoranda, email, drafts, correspondence, testimonies, talking points, fact sheets and news articles. The records cover meeting read-outs and handwritten notes from meetings, trade information, trade agreement status, analysis papers, U.S.- Vietnam BTA background materials, details of the bilateral trade agreement and chronology of U.S.- Vietnam relations. The testimonies are about the agreement and U.S. policy on Vietnam and are from Virginia B. Foote, President, U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council; Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky U.S. Trade Representative; Timothy J. Hauser, Deputy Under Secretary of International Trade; Stanley O. Roth, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.