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Vietnam trade pact near
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July 13, 2000: 8:04 a.m. ET
U.S. close to signing agreement that would restore economic relationship
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WASHINGTON (CNN) - The United States and Vietnam are on the verge of signing a major trade agreement that would clear the way for an open economic relationship between the two countries for the first time since the Vietnam War, administration sources told CNN.
Two officials familiar with the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a signing could come as early as this week, although they said a few final details need to be worked out. President Clinton also must review the agreement, but he has been kept informed of the negotiations and is not expected to have any objections, the officials said.
"There's a little more work to do but nothing that anyone views as a potential deal-breaker," one of the officials said.
The trade agreement still needs congressional approval; administration officials said they anticipate pockets of stiff resistance but believe it will be approved. Action before the November election is considered unlikely, however, and the administration expects that even if Clinton approves the deal this week or next it won't win congressional approval until next year.
Vietnam and the United States normalized relations in 1995, restoring full diplomatic ties. The trade deal would open a market of nearly 80 million people to U.S. companies. But it wouldn't be without controversy; labor unions and others object to deals with countries in which U.S. companies take advantage of low-wage conditions to make products for sale in U.S. markets.
Details of the agreement were not immediately available, but the officials reminded a reporter that as the negotiations have ebbed and flowed over the past four years, U.S. officials have insisted that Vietnam must move more quickly in embracing economic reforms and taking other steps to remove obstacles that have discouraged U.S. investment in the current trade relationship between the two countries.
Tariffs on imports from Vietnam now are in the 40 percent range; the officials said that under the agreement that would fall to low single-digit levels enjoyed by most full trading partners. 
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