Mind the gap: countdown to Viet Nam’s accession to the WTO

This briefing paper examines the run up to Viet Nam’s accession to the World Trade Organisation. It argues that a number of concessions are demanded form Vietnamese negotiators, and that if agreed to, these concessions could have potentially damaging consequences for Viet Nam’s ability to safeguard the livelihoods of its poorest people. The briefing paper also highlights that the demands are being led by three of the six countries yet to complete bilateral negotiations with Viet Nam: the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

Recommendations made by the briefing paper include:

• Viet Nam should be able to use all the instruments available to other developing country WTO members to further protect vulnerable farm sectors, including through tariff rate quotas, the current WTO Safeguard, etc.
• Viet Nam should not be asked to make greater commitments on the scale and timing of reductions in export subsidies that those made by other developing countries at the WTO, or those agreed in current WTO negotiations
• upon accession, Viet Nam should be able to maintain its current WTO-compliant export management controls on rice, in order to protect food security.