Vietnam Committed To Free Trade

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

09 June 2010

In talks with the Vietnamese Prime Minister, Nguyen Tan Dung, the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Director General, Pascal Lamy, welcomed the Vietnamese government’s progress on removing tax barriers to trade with third countries, consistent with Vietnam’s call for an urgent conclusion of the Doha Round.

Speaking with Lamy, Dung urged the Organization to redouble efforts to encourage the removal of trade barriers by countries still embracing protectionism despite making pledges to liberalize trade under the Doha Round. Dung noted that through greater trade liberalization, Vietnam, as a developing country, would be able to prosper as a result of a level playing field.

Lamy was receptive to his viewpoint, and said the WTO would support Vietnam’s efforts to improve its economic integration on a global scale. He noted that the country was markedly resilient to the crisis, which he said was a testament to the government’s efforts over the last three years to open up the Vietnamese economy to international trade and investment.

Concluding, Lamy agreed with the Prime Minister’s viewpoint that the early conclusion of the Doha Round – a global free trade agreement – would provide immediate, and long-term, benefits to the world economy.

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