AmCham Vietnam endorses host nation’s market economy status petition

The American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham Vietnam) supports Vietnam being designated as a market economy by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The support has been expressed in letters to the department as the latter prepares to issue a final decision on its changed circumstances review (CCR) of Vietnam’s non-market economy (NME) status by July 26, or 270 days after the review was initiated.

In a letter sent to Secretary Gina Raimondo of the Commerce Department, AmCham Vietnam said “we have witnessed first hand the transformation of Vietnam’s economy and the remarkable changes that have occurred.

“American companies and investors are now active in almost every sector of Vietnam’s economy, helping to integrate the country into the global supply chain and making the country more productive, safe and cleaner.”

The AmCham Vietnam letter also emphasized that “it is certain that Vietnam’s economy is very different to the other 11 countries on the non-market economy list. We believe that sufficient progress has been made and that graduating Vietnam to market economy status serves the interests of the United States.”

In another letter sent to former Assistant Secretary Lisa W. Wang of the Commerce Department, the Hanoi Chapter of the AmCham Vietnam said: “It has been over 20 years since Commerce (department) first determined Vietnam as a non-market economy in the anti-dumping investigation over catfish.”

Now, however, “graduating Vietnam to market economy status serves the interests of the United States.”

The letter went on to note that “to date, over 70 countries recognize Vietnam as a market economy including key U.S. allies such as the UK, Canada, Australia and Japan.”

The letter sent to the U.S. Department of Commerce states expressly that AmCham Vietnam supports Vietnam in its petition to be designated a “market economy”.

“AmCham Vietnam's members have contributed to, and benefited from, Vietnam's transformation to an important and reliable participant in international trade markets, especially with the United States. This could not have been accomplished without an unwavering commitment to fair market pricing and international regulatory standards.

“The rapid and successful internationalization of Vietnam's economic model has resulted in marked improvements in its global competitiveness, transparency, regulatory standards, and reliance on fair market pricing for the effective distribution of its exports. Such improvements have contributed to a more open and market-oriented economy,” the letter said.

The U.S. Department of Commerce considers various factors in designating a market economy status: (i) the extent to which the currency of the foreign country is convertible into the currency of other countries; (ii) the extent to which wage rates in the foreign country are determined by free bargaining between labor and management; (iii) the extent to which joint ventures or other investments by firms of other foreign countries are permitted in the foreign country; (iv) the extent of government ownership or control of the means of production; (v) the extent of government control over the allocation of resources and over the price and output decisions of enterprises; and (vi) other factors the administering authority considers appropriate.

Beside Vietnam, other non-market economies include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.