Bernie Sanders, 7 other US senators warn against giving market economy status to Vietnam

Bernie Sanders and seven other U.S. senators have warned against granting the market economy status to Vietnam as they claimed Vietnam “does not meet the legal requirements established by Congress,” in a joint letter sent to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.

The group expressed their concerns as the U.S. Department of Commerce will soon review Vietnam’s non-market economy status. They said they are “especially concerned by reports that Commerce pledged to the government of Vietnam that your agency’s review will result in a favorable determination.”

The other senators are Sherrod Brown, Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Baldwin, Bob Casey, Debbie Stabenow, John Fetterman, and Tina Smith.

They stressed that “Commerce must conduct an object and holistic review of Vietnam’s nonmarket economy status based on data and evidence, not politics,” while the U.S. administration is seeking to increase engagement in Southeast Asia, including via the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

They pointed out that Vietnam does not fulfill factors of exchange rate, free bargaining between labor and management, the governmental control related to foreign direct investment (FDI), the state ownership or control of the means of production, the governmental control over allocation of resources and over prices and output of enterprises.

Another factor is the close economic relationship between Vietnam and China, they added.

They urged the U.S. Department of Commerce to examine the full range of evidence as it conducts its review and to consider the impact on American jobs and producers in its final determination.

According to a document of the U.S. Department of Commerce dated October 30, 2023, the Vietnamese government had sent the request amid a changed circumstances review (CCR) of the anti-dumping duty (AD) order on raw honey exported from Vietnam to the U.S.

The department has said that it intends to issue its preliminary decision no later than 150 days and the final results no later than 270 days after the date on which the review was initiated.