[Program alert: eye-witness reports from observers of Cambodia’s February 3d communal elections will be offered at a meeting in Washington on February 11^th. For further information, contact washington@ffrd.org]

1. Trade

Vietnamese delegation concludes visit to the US. The delegation’s December 9-14 tour of Washington, New York and San Francisco formally inaugurated the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement. Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung expressed satisfaction with the trip, saying that it improved the overall state of US-Vietnam relations. Coming directly before the holiday season and conclusion of the Congressional session, the delegation’s visit remained at a low profile in Washington, but the mood at a December 10 banquet held by the Embassy of Vietnam and US-Vietnam Trade Council was decidedly festive, with warm applause for the efforts of outgoing ambassadors Pete Peterson and Le Van Bang.

In a speech at Johns Hopkins University-SAIS, DPM Dung said, "Today in the United States, Vietnam is no longer thought of and talked about just as painful memories of a war, but as a country, a people and a culture. This is a positive change in the mindset of the American people… I am totally in agreement with what President George W. Bush told Ambassador Nguyen Tam Chien when he presented his credentials: ‘all differences between our two countries should be solved through dialogue and enhanced mutual understanding.’ In that spirit, I believe that Vietnam-US relations will continue to see new steps forward in the future." However, Dung also expresseds concern over remaining issues of disagreement such as Agent Orange, the Vietnam Human Rights Act, and the catfish trade dispute.


Trade Minister Vu Khoan told the Vietnam News Agency following the visit that "there is a great interest from the US business community in the Vietnamese market… Many US leading companies, which are also world leading companies, met us and requested specific projects in investment in Vietnam. Many Vietnamese businesses also reached specific contracts and agreements with US partners."

Repeal of catfish ban fails in Senate. The trade dispute between the US and Vietnam over imports of basa catfish deepened in December, as last-ditch efforts by Sens. Phil Gramm (R-TX), John McCain (R-AZ) and John Kerry (D-MA) to remove a forced name change for the fish stalled with the filibuster of a farm reform bill (S.1731). As a result, the amendment to the 2002 Agricultural Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2330) inserted by members of the Mississippi and Arkansas Congressional delegations stands. The amendment (Sec. 755) reads: "None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act to the Food and Drug Administration shall be used to allow admission of fish or fish products labeled wholly or in part as `catfish' unless the products are taxonomically from the family Ictaluridae."

Greg Rushford, publisher of the Rushford Report, terms the catfish amendment "the usual sneak attack: no previous hearings, no public debate." The change contradicts Food and Drug Administration terminology, which says that Vietnamese basa fish in the Pangasiidae family may also be labeled as "freshwater catfishes." According to the Associated Press (December 26, 2001), the US imported an estimated 16 million pounds of catfish fillet in 2001, the majority coming from Vietnam.

Dispute over Cambodia’s garment quota. Negotiations on the renewal of Cambodia’s textile and apparel agreement with the US ended in controversy on December 4, with the US offering only a 9 percent quota increase instead of the 28 percent demanded proposed by Cambodia. A second round of negotiations is set to conclude in January. Cambodia’s commerce minister, Cham Prasidh, told the Phnom Penh Post that Cambodia deserved the increase for accepting the linkage of the textile agreement to labor standards. A similar agreement is currently being considered for Vietnam.

Vietnam purchases Boeing aircraft. During the Vietnamese delegation’s visit to Washington on December 10, Vietnam Airlines President Nguyen Xuan Hien and Boeing CEO Alan Mulally announced a deal to sellfor the purchase of four 777 aircraft, starting delivery in 2003. The planes would presumably be used to fly nonstop from Saigon to the west coast of the US, but a long-awaited aviation agreement to allow direct flights is still being held up by the US Commerce Department over market-access and competitiveness issues. In the meantime, several American carriers will reportedly begin code-sharing on flights into Vietnam in 2002.

The timing of the announcement is reminiscent of a similar Boeing sale to China during President Clinton’s 1996 visit to China. In spite of expressed support for the value of free trade, the first corporation to benefit directly from normal trading relations is, ironically, a near-monopoly.

Trade Promotion Authority passes the House. In a razor-thin 215-214 victory for President Bush, the House approved Trade Promotion Authority, commonly known as "fast-track", on December 6. Passage in the Senate is expected to be much easier; the Senate will take up the measure early in the 2002 session. TPA’s passage might improve the chances of approval for other trade agenda topics such as the US-Lao Trade Agreement.

Bush grants China normal trade status. In a December 27 proclamation, President Bush approved permanent normal trading relations with China. The move follows China’s accession to the World Trade Organization on December 11 and ends a yearly series of contentious Congressional votes on China’s Jackson-Vanik waiver.

Jackson-Vanik provisions continue to apply to Vietnam, whose normal trade status must be renewed each year. Cambodia and Laos are not affected, as neither country had a Communist government when the 1974 Trade Bill that includes the provisions was passed.

2. Foreign Assistance

Foreign Operations Appropriations bill passed through conference. After being sent to a House-Senate conference committee on November 14, the Foreign Operations bill (H.R. 2506) finally emerged on December 18 after disputes over international family planning. In general, conference results split the difference between the slightly more restrictive House language and the slightly less restrictive Senate language, with few major differences from the 2001 version.

Cambodian restrictions. The conference report keeps most of the amendments and language in the Senate version of the bill. Assistance to the Cambodian government is prohibited subject to improvements in human rights, elections, and the environment as certified by the Secretary of State. However, exceptions to the ban on assistance are provided for basic education as proposed by the House and activities conducted by the Ministry of Women and Veteran's Affairs to combat human trafficking as proposed by the Senate. These are significant openings that have not been available in recent years.

According to the report, the conference committee members (or "managers") "remain concerned with Cambodia's political, legal, and economic development, and the lack of independence of its judiciary" and "strongly condemn acts of intimidation and violence against the democratic opposition in the run-up to commune council elections." However, the phrase "democratic opposition" (implying that the two ruling coalition parties are by nature undemocratic) does not appear in the text of the bill, which merely calls for "local elections that are deemed free and fair by international and local election monitors."

As in the Senate version, assistance to any Khmer Rouge tribunal is conditioned on the President certifying to Congress that the tribunal is "impartial and credible."

Assistance to Laos. The conference agreement reduced the $5 million earmarked for children’s health and development programs in Laos in the Senate version to $2 million. In a clear nod to the extremist Lao/Hmong-American lobby, the report also noted that "the managers are extremely troubled by the repressive policies of the Government of Laos" and what the report terms "the wholesale denial of human rights to the people of Laos, particularly the Hmong."

Vietnam received no specific mention in the conference report.

Vietnam Education Foundation. Established by act of Congress in January 2001, the Vietnam Education Foundation will recycle one-half of Vietnam’s yearly debt repayments to the US into science and technology scholarships for Vietnamese students in the US. After delays in implementing the program, Congressional sources say that appointments for the Foundation’s board will be made soon, following a vetting process involving both houses of Congress and the Bush Administration.

Funding for Agent Orange research. Congressional appropriations for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in fiscal year 2002 includes funding for "Agent Orange and dioxin research in Southeast Asia." The previous year’s wording had been restricted to Vietnam only, excluding wartime dioxin contamination in Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. According to Agent Orange specialist Dr. Arnold Schechter, the primary Congressional backers of this collaborative research are Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Rep. Lane Evans (D-IL).

At a March 3-6 conference in Hanoi being organized by NIEHS and the Vietnamese government, scientists from both countries are expected to discuss future collaborative projects relating to Agent Orange. Unfortunately, Lao and Cambodian representatives have not been invited to attend.

Approval process for Nam Theun II project underway. The controversial Nam Theun II dam project in southern Laos is currently undergoing final review by the World Bank. Bank officials say that they have not yet made a decision on the project and are aware of conflicting views on the subject. If the Bank passes approves the project, other investors and the Asian Development Bank are expected to follow suit.

Environmental groups in the US and Asia note that the project has been substantially improved since its original proposal nearly a decade ago, but they still harbor concerns about environmental impact and implementation. The Lao Government, in need of economic relief, has made approval of the project a high priority for 2002.

3. Special: US Involvement in Cambodia’s Communal Elections

While the US Government is taking no direct role in the February 3 communal elections in Cambodia, US-funded organizations are contributing to voter education and the development of political parties in substantial ways. These groups, including the International Republican Institute (IRI), National Democratic Institute (NDI) and The Asia Foundation, claim to bedescribe themselves as independent and "non-governmental,". but in reality all oftenAll receive substantial funding from the US Government and undertake programs compatible with its policy, to some extent reflecting the diversity of perspectives found within Congress and the Administration. IRI and NDI programs in Cambodia are carried out with funds appropriated to the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).; The Asia Foundation’s activities are largely funded through the US Agency for International Development (AID). Both NED and AID also provide direct funding to Cambodian NGOs on a number of non-election-related topics.

The following excerpts are taken from online materials published by IRI, NDI, and The Asia Foundation. Note IRI’s use of "democratic opposition" and self-identification with the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), compared to NDI’s association with NGOs that are generally sympathetic to FUNCINPEC, and the Asia Foundation’s neutral and overall more positive assessment.

International Republican Institute (www.iri.org): "IRI conducts a comprehensive program to strengthen Cambodia’s democratic opposition through training seminars for national and local party activists. Training topics include instruction on grassroots organization, political research, issue advocacy, and communication and message development. IRI worked closely with the SRP to provide training in a nationwide program of civic education for thousands of women activists at the sub-provincial level. Many of these women are now candidates for commune council. IRI's party training program is now focused on the February 2002 commune elections. IRI is providing training to targeted opposition activists and candidates in campaign management and election monitoring."

National Democratic Institute (www.ndi.org/worldwide/asia/cambodia/cambodia.asp): "Currently, the Cambodia People's Party (CPP) has exclusive control of the local administrative structure nationwide, and events during the 1998 election process suggest that the party will not readily relinquish its current hold on local authority. In spite of CPP's tight control of political space, civic organizations continue to operate around the country and have sought to actively engage in the political process.

"Since the 1998 elections, NDI's election monitoring partners-the Committee for Free and Fair Elections (COMFREL), the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (COFFEL) and the Neutral Impartial Committee for Free Elections in Cambodia (NICFEC)- and other Cambodian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have actively monitored the development of the local administrative and election frameworks and expect to play an important monitoring role in the upcoming commune elections.

"NDI is currently assisting COMFREL, COFFEL, NICFEC and other Cambodian NGOs as they undertake activities in preparation for the commune elections. NDI is advising Cambodian election monitoring organizations on program designs that will build upon their previous efforts of volunteer and coordinator training. The Institute is also providing technical assistance in the areas of voter registration, materials development and training."

The Asia Foundation (www.asiafoundation.org/programs/prog-asia-camb.html): "Cambodia is attempting to build on the experience of the 1998 National Assembly election to strengthen and institutionalize electoral processes which ensure fair elections. The government has passed twin laws on decentralization and commune council elections, which will provide the legal framework for democratically elected local government. With Foundation support, Cambodia's three domestic election monitoring organizations have conducted vigorous and multipronged advocacy campaigns in support of the establishment of this legal framework. The commune council elections, slated for early 2002, have the potential to bring about a fundamental shift from rule by party appointees dating back to the early 1980s to pluralistic, multiparty representation with local citizens actively involved in planning and resource allocation for their own communities."

The Washington Indochina Update is written on a monthly basis by Andrew Wells-Dang, Washington Representative of the Fund for Reconciliation and Development. Andrew can be reached at washington@ffrd.org.

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This page last updated in January 2002