Trading with the Enemy

The U.S signed a trade agreement moving Vietnam closer to acceptance into the World Trade Organisation. Vietnam is one of the last communist nations on this planet, along with the Island nation of Cuba. The main difference being that Cuba didn't kill 57,000 of our men.

It also paves the way for Vietnam to reach its goal of becoming a member of the global trading body before Hanoi hosts the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November, which President Bush is scheduled to attend.
A vote in the U.S. Congress is still needed for the pact to take effect.

Deputy Trade Minister Luong Van Tu and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Karan Bhatia signed the agreement during a ceremony that was attended by Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen and Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan as well as U.S. Trade Representative-designate Susan Schwab.

Calling it a "historic step forward," Bhatia said the process had begun more than a decade earlier as Hanoi and Washington laid out a roadmap for normalization. "Today's signing is the culmination of years of hard work and preparation on both sides," he said.

Tuyen, who has been involved in negotiations for years, said it marked a "new step of development in Vietnam-U.S. relations."

The United States was the last country that Vietnam had to negotiate a bilateral treaty with for WTO access and it hopes to conclude multilateral talks by this summer.

But a final challenge remains: the U.S. Congress must vote to grant Vietnam permanent normal trading relations.

All this for cheap sneakers, and a slap in the face for those who sacrificed so much over there. Meanwhile Rumsfeld is developing military ties, and I can't have a good Cuban cigar.