US House rejects key Vietnam trade bill in rebuff to Bush
By Lucy Huff,WNS Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON - The US House of Representatives rejected on Monday a bill aimed at normalising trade relations with Vietnam despite calls by President George W. Bush's administration to pass it ahead of his visit to the former battlefield enemy state. The House voted 228 to 161 on the bill to grant "permanent normal trade relations" (PNTR) status to Vietnam, falling short of a required two-thirds majority, officials of the chamber said. The decision surprised many as legislators had spoken in favour of having the final hurdle in normalising US-Vietnam ties removed before Bush's visit to Vietnam to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation on November 18-19. Legislation to grant Vietnam PNTR status has been held up in Congress for months.
In its absence, US businesses will not benefit from the full terms of Vietnam's liberalisation under the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Hanoi won recent approval to become the 150th WTO member. But Bush's Republican Party lawmakers have not given up, vowing to bring up the bill for another vote and attempting to have it passed with a simple majority through an amendment of the House rules. "The bill is expected to be brought up by a regular order on Wednesday of this week," said Kevin Madden, spokesman for House majority leader John Boehner of the Republican party, which lost control of the new Congress beginning January 2007. The Senate also has to pass the Vietnam bill before Bush can sign it into law.
The White House earlier on Monday urged Congress to pass the bill, following the release by Hanoi of a US activist whose case was an obstacle to full commercial ties. "We are urging the House (of Representatives) and Senate to pass the Vietnam PNTR legislation, as Vietnam reforms, transitions and reassesses its role in the region," White House spokesman Tony Snow said. He spoke hours after Vietnam freed and deported Thuong Nguyen "Cuc" Foshee, who had spent more than a year in jail before being convicted last week with two other US nationals and four Vietnamese on terrorism charges. A US senator from Florida, where Foshee lives, had threatened to hold up a bill authorising PNTR until her release. In what was seen as a reciprocal move, the United States also dropped Vietnam on Monday from its blacklist of nations that severely violate religious freedom.
posted by wnsworld @ 5:56 PM
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