Mr.Truong Dinh Tuyen, the Minister of Trade – Vice-chairman of National Committee on International Economic Integration, visited Binh Dinh. Binh Dinh newspaper’s reporter interviewed him about Vietnam’s WTO integration.

The Minister of Trade Truong Dinh Tuyen ( first row from left) visits Nhon Hoi Economic Zone (photo: V.H)

* Would you like to let us know the challenges and opportunities when Vietnam integrate into the WTO?

Integrating into the WTO, Vietnam has big opportunities. This is a global “big playground”, so Vietnam’s position on the international arena will be enhanced. Simultaneously, we also have such other opportunities as: our law system will be gradually patent, investment-attracted chances will be expanded, we have more conditions to join the global trade policy, there will be no discriminatory treatment for our goods, the garment export quota and other obstacles will be abolished, and trade disputes against other countries will be better solved, etc. The importance is that we will have better conditions to implement the objective: wealthy people, strong country and just,democratic, and civilized society.

However, we have to face with challenges. We have to open our market for foreign countries to conduct a global market. Most Vietnamese small and medium businesses limited in capital, technology, and capability have weak competition; others will be difficult due to no protectionism or low protectionism. Also, the competitive factors on human resources, among businesses and products will be very severe.

* How about the awareness, the Minister?

- We are having some inaccurate awareness of Vietnam’s WTO integration. This is showed by three issues. Firstly, some people thought that the WTO integration is something formidable and we will be rich after a night. It is absolutely wrong. As I mentioned above, the WTO integration will bring us many big opportunities; that’s why our country integrated. There have never been any countries integrating WTO become poorer. Which country grabbing the opportunity will develop; however, the opportunity itself doesn’t bring benefits; it relies on human activities.

Secondly, there is the awareness that the WTO integration will make our country more difficult. That’s not true. Of course, when integrating into WTO, there are both challenges and opportunities. If we take full advantage of the opportunities, the challenges will be pushed back and greater opportunities will be created.

The third inaccurate awareness is that the WTO integration is considered as the State’s affair or, at the most, businesses’, not the people’s. That’s a complete mistake because WTO influences all, even the peasants.If Vietnamese farmers, for example, produce rice, noodle, cassava, maize, sugar, etc, the farmers of WTO’s foreign countries also can produce similar products, even with  higher quality. We have to lower the tax according to the commitment of the WTO integration, foreign products will flood into Vietnam and this considerably affects our farmers’ life. As for commodity trading and servicing businesses, foreign comodities and services can be provided with low price. Will the domestic businesses be able to compete? I affirm that WTO is the whole population’s career.

* One issue concerned by many people is that on integrating into the WTO, which direction will the Vietnam’s retail system be developed?

- With the distribution service, we committed to open the market in the 1^st January 2009. As a result, from now to that moment, we have the authority not to allow foreign distributors to open their branches in Vietnam. The distribution sector is attracting millions of people, in which there are about 2 million people in Vietnam. In Quynhon city, for instance, I saw that there are shops in most of the streets. If the foreign distributors penetrate our market, Vietnam’s shops will be at risk of not selling goods, which affecting the people. 

It doesn’t mean that we close the market forever because the WTO doesn’t allow. The issue, therefore, is that Vietnamese distributors ought to chance the mode of selling, joining the distribution chain of domestic businesses. As I know, there are some retail services joined the G7 retail system (Binh Dinh’ BITRACO company is one of them). In short, to be able to compete against foreign distributors, Vietnamese ones have to modernize the infrastructure, the technology, the mode of business, and a better serving style, etc.

* There is an idea that the gap between the rich and the poor will be wider when Vietnam integrated into the WTO. Would you like to let us know more about this?

-That is also a challenge when we are in the globalization, the international economic integration and the WTO. In the WTO, the distribution of benefits among countries is not equal: rich countries will have more benefits, and poor countries will have less. Even in one country there are the areas having more benefits and vice versa. Also, some parts will be negatively affected. Some factories and businesses, for example, which can’t compete will bankrupt, resulting in some unemployment. The rich-poor gap will, therefore, be wider.

In my opinion, to surmount the above-mentioned risks and challenges, besides the enhancement of the growth we need to be concerned with difficult and rural areas, having overall programme for the development of the economy to narrow the rich-poor gap. Simultaneously, we also need to support the poor, having a good social welfare policy, and conducting the economic growth and the poverty-alleviation movement, etc. We believe that Vietnam will grab the opportunity, overcoming the challenges to step forward.

* Thank you very much, the Minister!

• Interviewed by Viet Hien
• Translated by Hong Quang