The US textile industry has expressed strong opposition against the US-Vietnam bilateral market access agreement, and is seizing its last chance to lobby US Congress to turn it down.

"There are no adequate safeguards in this deal. In its present form, we are left with no choice but to urge Congress to oppose this flawed agreement," Executive Director Auggie Tantillo of American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC), commented.

Under the agreement, signed by Deputy US Trade Representative Karan Bhatia and Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Trade Luong Van Tu on behalf of their respective countries on May 31, the US will end import quotas on Vietnamese textiles and garments, while Vietnam will withdraw a US$4 billion government plan to help its textile and garment industry. It is subject to the final approval by Congress on the US side.

A double loser

"This agreement is bound to replicate the disastrous trade pattern the US has constructed with China. Because of China´s state-sponsored advantages, their manufacturers have run roughshod over US companies in our own market. Inconceivably, we have just approved an agreement that will allow Vietnam to do the same thing," Mr Tantillo said.

"This deal is a double loser. It will further damage the hard-hit US textile industry and more than likely cause substantial job losses in Mexico and Central America. Illegal immigration is the hottest issue on Capitol Hill right now and this deal directly will exacerbate the problem."

The AMTAC, together with the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), previously proposed that Vietnam should sign a textile arrangement similar to the pre-WTO membership agreement negotiated with China, so that the US textile industry could call for necessary restrictions when imports increase dramatically.

According to statistics, Vietnam´s textile and clothing exports to the US jumped from US$49 million in 2001 to US$2.9 billion last year. As of March 2006, Vietnam is the sixth largest exporter to the US.

Vietnam hopes to obtain the WTO membership by the end of this year. While the agreement it signed with the US has provided a quantum leap, it still needs to receive the PNTR (Permanent Normal Trade Relations) status from Congress and finish the 13th round of multilateral negotiations scheduled for mid-July in Switzerland.