U.S. sending mixed signals to Viet Nam

While the Department of State recently removed Viet Nam from its list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC), the U.S. House of Representatives sent a strong rebuke to the Vietnamese government, according to an article from AsiaNews. Ahead of President Bush’s travel to Hanoi for the APEC summit, the State Department announced that Viet Nam no longer falls onto the CPC list for religious freedom concerns. This being said, many still believe that religious freedom remains non-existent in the country. Although the removal of CPC designation was a gesture the Vietnamese were pleased with, the fact that Congress voted against implementing Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status could complicate Viet Nam’s entry into the World Trade Organization, as achieving PNTR is a requirement for maintaining a position in the WTO.

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