Senators Tell Commerce Not to Grant Vietnam Market Economy Status

Eight senators, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo that "there is abundant evidence" to suggest that Vietnam has not met legal conditions for market economy status.

"We are especially concerned by reports that Commerce pledged to the government of Vietnam that your agency’s review will result in a favorable determination, to the detriment of U.S. industries and workers," the letter said, referring to a story from Inside U.S. Trade.

The letter went through the statutory conditions -- as did a similar letter from more than two dozen House progressives (see 2401290042) -- and then talked about the broad "other issues" category the agency may consider.

For that category, they wrote, "we urge Commerce to take into account Vietnam’s close economic relationship with China, especially as China and Vietnam actively seek to further deepen their trade ties. Vietnam’s manufacturing sector relies heavily on inputs from China, making it 'vulnerable to forced labor risks in supply chains.' Moreover, Commerce itself has raised the alarm about China’s use of Vietnam to circumvent U.S. antidumping duties on Chinese-made products."

The Democrats and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., noted that Vietnam has 25 antidumping duty orders and four pending trade remedy investigations.

"Granting Vietnam market economy status before it addresses its clear nonmarket behavior and the severe deficiencies in its labor law will worsen ongoing trade distortions, erode the U.S. manufacturing base, threaten American workers and industries, and reinforce Vietnam’s role as a conduit for goods produced in China with forced labor," they wrote.

In a press release publicizing the letter, Warren said: "Secretary Raimondo should listen to the concerns of American workers, not jeopardize their job security with bad trade policy. Upgrading Vietnam’s status before its labor standards are improved, including a greenlight for goods produced by forced labor in China, would be a serious mistake."