An agreement reached in 2001 resulted in lowered tariffs on goods traded between Vietnam and the United States, and is the same favorable tariff rate applied to most favored nations such as Europe, Japan and other WTO members.
Before the trade agreement was in place, Vietnam imposed a surcharge of up to 100 percent on imports of products from countries with which it did not have normal trade relations. Japan and European Union member states already have extended Normal Trade Relations (NTR) status to Vietnam, and their companies are exempt from the surcharge.
In July 2004, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Josette Sheeran Shiner confirmed that Washington had offered to support Vietnam's bid to join the WTO. Vietnam first applied for WTO membership in 1995, but needed to reach bilateral deals with any member that requested them before being accepted to the organization. Trade Representative Shiner indicated that the bilateral trade pact of 2001 between the United States and Vietnam was a significant sign that Vietnam was serious about WTO membership, as it required the nation to liberalize its market access and meet international standards on investment, trade and financial transparency.
In August 2004, Vietnam announced that it would be reducing tariffs to an average of 18 percent, and holding bilateral talks with more than 20 WTO members in an effort to accelerate its accession to the WTO. Bilateral deals on its WTO accession terms have been concluded with 22 members, including all of Vietnam's major Asian and European trading partners. Vietnam completed deals with Canada, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Switzerland, among others, in 2005.
http://www.calchamber.com/headlines/international/pages/12122006ts.aspx
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