Border to bring nations closer

Border to bring nations closer Update: 18-2-2009

Vietnam and China are busy preparing to celebrate the demarcation of their long-disputed 1,400 kilometre land border, following successes at the negotiating table at the end of 2008. Chau An looks into this event of great historic significance in Vietnam-China relations.

Mountains connect mountains, rivers connect rivers but the border demarcation has been a long story between the two countries for thousands of years. The last border war broke out February 17, 1979 and border skirmishes continued throughout the 1980s. In the late 19th century, the French colonial administration, on behalf of Vietnam and the Qing Dynasty, on behalf of China, concluded a formal treaty delineating the land border. From that treaty, 333 border tablets were installed. But nowadays, after the completion of the land border demarcation, there are nearly 2,000 border markers installed. The two countries signed a land border agreement in 1999, followed by the first border marker installed on December, 2001 at the border gate of Vietnam’s Mong Cai in Quang Ninh province and China’s Dongxing in Guangxi province. The last marker finished at Vietnam’s Ban Gioc water fall in Cao Bang province and China’s Daxin district, Guangxi province on two sides of the Quay Son river. “The completion of the land border demarcation between China and Vietnam will promote the development of the China-Vietnam strategic partnership,” Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, also head of Chinese negotiation delegation, told media after border negotiations were completed. “The completion of this work will also benefit peace, stability and development in this region.” Dawei’s Vietnamese counterpart, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vu Dung said the move was an historic event for bilateral ties. “This is a common victory for the Vietnam-China friendship and a vivid symbol of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership agreed by two countries’ high-level leaders,” said Dung, adding that the event also gave new momentum to the relationship between the two countries. Associate professor Ramses Amer of Stockholm University underscored the agreement’s significance. “The symbolism is that the demarcation was completed in time for the 30 year anniversary of the border war of 1979 sending a strong message that the two countries have improved relations and addressed contentious issues over the last 30 years.” It also illustrated that high-level meetings between party and state leaders can lead to practical resolutions of outstanding matters, professor Carl Thayer of Australian Defence Force Academy said. “The border demarcation is a major confidence building measure between China and Vietnam. Border issues can now be handled peacefully by local authorities.” In a recent interview on the 59th anniversary of the Vietnam-China relationship establishment in January, Chinese ambassador to Vietnam Sun Gouxiang said with the border demarcation, the two countries sent a message to the world that all bilateral issues could be negotiated between China and Vietnam. “We will be able to deal with all issues in a spirit of friendship and making concession for general interest,” said Gouxiang. Vice chairman of Vietnam’s National Assembly’s Committee for Foreign Affairs Ngo Quang Xuan said the clearly defined border was a major turning point. “When a big neighbour recognises and respects your national frontiers, this cements your international position,” said Xuan. The two sides have become major trade partners since normalising relations in 1991 with $21 billion in two-way trade last year. Border gates have become major conduits for goods to flow between the nations. There are international and national border gates set up along China’s Guangxi and Yunnan with Vietnam’s Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Lai Chau and Dien Bien provinces. The main gates such as Mong Cai-Dongxing, Huu Nghi-Youyiguan, Tan Thanh-Puzhai and Lao Cai-Hakou are always busy. A Vietnamese border guard officer said that along the 1,400km border, there were thousands of points used to exchange products between villagers of two sides. The new borders would also help to counter criminal activities and national security issues, he said. “Economically it will allow for better control of economic interaction across the border and it will certainly boost economic interaction,” Amer said. With a regional view, China and Vietnam cross border trade is not just a bilateral matter. It was part of the larger greater Mekong sub-region, Thayer said. Border demarcation will give confidence to the Asian Development Bank and other international institutions to continue to invest and develop the infrastructure across mainland and Indochina. Only two days after the negotiations ended, the Hanoi-Nan Ning railway line was put into operation on January 2, 2009, paving the way for increased economic and tourism exchanges between the two countries. Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem said the two sides would also look to exploit the tourism potential of the Ban Gioc water fall. The two countries would discuss and sign a government agreement on the establishment of an area of free movement along the border at the mouth of Bac Luan river, said Khiem. “With the sides’ efforts and determination, the land border between Vietnam and China will truly become a borderline of peace, stability, friendship and cooperation,” he said.

Local exports at grave risk of a US duty petition

Local exports at grave risk of a US duty petition

VIR-news
Local exports at grave risk of a US duty petition
Update: 16-3-2009
There is a risk of a countervailing duty petition filed by the US against Vietnamese exports.

Jay L. Eizenstat, a Miller & Chevalier lawyer who was a former customs affairs director at the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office in Washington, said it was only a matter of time before the Department of Commerce (DoC) accepted a countervailing duty (CVD) petition involving Vietnamese exports by applying a precedent achieved following a suit against China Coated Free Paper.

Prior to 2007, the DoC refused to apply US countervailing duty law to petitions involving goods exported from non-market economies (NMEs), including China and Vietnam. However, in a groundbreaking 2007 case involving Coated Free Sheet Paper, the DoC abandoned its long history of refusing to pursue CVD cases against NMEs and in so doing, ushered in a new era in US’ CVD practice intended to respond to the trade distortion impacts of inconsistent World Trade Organization (WTO) subsidy practices.

Since the 2007 Coasted Free Sheet Paper case, petitioners have successfully filed nine CVD petitions against China. “The prospect of a second US trade remedy law becoming applicable to Vietnamese exports is something that should concern the government of Vietnam, Vietnamese industry associations and Vietnamese exporters and manufacturers,” Eizenstat said.

The DoC’s 2007 decision and the subsequent CVD petitions involving goods exported from China suggest that the DoC may accept and investigate CVD claims involving Vietnamese exports. Current US economic conditions portend a rise in trade remedy filings and it was a matter of time before a US industry sought import relief from Vietnamese products and asked the DoC to extend the Coated Free Sheet Paper from China precedent and apply the CVD law to Vietnam, he said.

“The Vietnamese government needs to be proactive and anticipate the DoC’s analysis and identifying subsidies,” said Eizenstat. Eizenstat also warned that the US was likely to continue its monitoring programme against textile and apparel imports from Vietnam which expired last year. “There is considerable pressure from domestic textile and apparel interests and among some members of Congress to re-institute the US Commerce Department textile monitoring programme on China and Vietnam,” Eizenstat said.

He said while imports of Chinese textile and apparel were already being tracked by the International Trade Commission following a request last year by representative Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, scrutiny on textile and apparel imports from China and Vietnam were expected to increase.

The Conference Report to the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 calls on the DoC’s International Trade Administration to: “Undertake apparel import monitoring from China and Vietnam and whether their state-run industries are illegally pricing products and dumping in the US market.”
“As a result of this language in the conference report, in the very near future, I would expect the secretary of commerce to re-institute the apparel monitoring programme on China and Vietnam,” Eizenstat said.

Deputy general secretary of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association Nguyen Son said there was a high possibility that the US would extend its monitoring programme on textile and apparel imports from Vietnam. He said the programme would double the difficulties the industry faced given the ongoing economic downturn.

Regarding the likely CVD lawsuit, a senior Ministry of Industry and Tade official said since becoming a full WTO member, Vietnam had fully implemented its commitments. He said there had been more than 30 anti-dumping lawsuits against Vietnamese exports.

“Although no CVD cases against Vietnamese products have been filed, it is necessary for Vietnamese exporters to be cautious so as to avoid and prevent other countries from abusing their trade remedies or protectionism against Vietnamese products,” said the official.

By Binh Chau

The second day,

Many items, many technical terms  make “blog” become a new world for me.  Hope I’ll have more time and energy for it.