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US weighs upgrade for Vietnam to 'market economy' status

U.S. President Joe Biden's. quote to draw Vietnam closer as a tactical ally will clash. headon with his desire for union workers' votes on Wednesday as. the Commerce Department hears testimony on whether to designate. Vietnam as a market economy.

The relocation, opposed by U.S. steelmakers and Gulf Coast. shrimpers but backed by sellers and other organization groups,. would reduce the punitive anti-dumping tasks set on Vietnamese. imports since of its present status as a non-market economy. with heavy state impact.

Vietnam is currently a market economy, said Ted Osius, head. of the U.S.-ASEAN Company Council, which backs the upgrade. It. has satisfied essential requirements such as currency convertibility and is. all set for a precise designation.

The Commerce Department will hear arguments from both sides. during a virtual hearing on Wednesday afternoon in Washington as. part of a review due to be finished in late July.

Vietnam has actually argued to be devoid of the non-market label. Saying retaining the moniker since of recent financial reforms. is bad for progressively close two-way ties that Washington sees. as a counterbalance to China.

Throughout Biden's check out to Hanoi in 2015, the two countries. raised ties to a detailed strategic collaboration,. lifting Washington's diplomatic status in Vietnam to match China. and Russia.

In 2015, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also. prompted U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for an end to the. non-market label, befitting Vietnam's status as a U.S. friend-shoring destination to diversify supply chains away. from China.

The existing designation swellings Vietnam in with China, Russia,. Belarus, Azerbaijan a 9 other countries as non-market. economies subject to greater anti-dumping tasks.

American organizations are currently investing considerably in. Vietnam as they acknowledge its growth potential, said Osius, a. former U.S. ambassador to Vietnam.

The Commerce Department has a relatively narrow set of requirements. for figuring out market economy status.

These consist of the level to which the country's currency is. convertible; its wage rates are an outcome of free bargaining. between labor and management, and permission for joint ventures. or other foreign investment.

Additional requirements consist of whether the government owns or. controls the ways of production and the government controls the. allotment of resources and rate and output decisions.

It can likewise think about other aspects.

LOWER SHRIMP DUTIES

Product from non-market economies go through greater tariff. rates in anti-dumping duty investigations that use third-country. proxy prices to identify an item's reasonable market price.

This year, the U.S. International Trade Commission restored. anti-dumping duties of 25.76% on frozen farmed shrimp from. Vietnam, however tasks on shrimp from Thailand, a market economy,. are only 5.34%.

The Southern Shrimp Alliance of U.S. shrimp fishermen and. processors said it opposed the grant of market economy status. Its weak labor laws since of Vietnam's bars on land ownership. and lower shrimp tasks that would harm its members.

Upgrading Vietnam's status also deals with significant opposition. in Congress, with 8 U.S. senators and 31 members of the. Legislature making comparable arguments to Commerce. Secretary Gina Raimondo.

They have actually advised her to also think about that the relocation would assist. Chinese state companies that have invested greatly in Vietnam, by. letting them more quickly prevent U.S. tariffs on their goods.

Roy Houseman, legislative director of the United. Steelworkers Union (USW), added that the change would deteriorate our. domestic manufacturing base, weaken U.S. supply chain. resiliency and enhance Vietnam's role as an avenue for an. increase of unjustly traded Chinese items.

Biden has heavily courted union votes in the looming. November governmental election, especially from steelworkers. in the essential swing state of Pennsylvania.

He has actually opposed Nippon Steel's proposed takeover of. Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, and required sharply greater. Area 301 tariffs on imports of Chinese steel.

(source: Reuters)