Trans-Pacific View | Economy | Southeast Asia

US Forced Labor Ruling Does Not Reflect Vietnam’s Efforts, Govt Says

Hanoi is now the subject of three separate U.S. trade probes, which will likely introduce new areas of tension into ongoing trade talks.

Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry yesterday pushed back on the U.S. government’s claim that it had failed to combat the trade in goods made with forced labor, saying that Washington’s determination did not reflect the government’s efforts.

Vietnam is among 60 nations that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) threatened this week with tariffs of 10-12.5 percent due to their alleged failures to take action on forced labor.

Speaking at a regular press briefing in Hanoi, Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang stated that “the conclusions of the investigation into forced labor practices by the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office do not accurately reflect the reality and Vietnam’s efforts in preventing, mitigating, and reducing forced labor,” Vietnamese state media reported.

Hang added that Vietnam had a consistent policy of strictly prohibiting all forms of forced labor, and adhered to both the standards of the International Labour Organization and the labor regulations contained in its various free trade agreements.

“This policy is specifically outlined in legal documents, programs, and action plans of the Government, and its implementation is guaranteed in practice,” she said.

In March, the USTR announced that it had initiated unfair ​trade practices probes into 60 nations’ alleged failures to take action on forced labor, under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974.

On Tuesday, the USTR announced that all 60 had been found guilty of either failing to introduce anti-forced labor regulations, or failing to implement them adequately. Vietnam was among the 44 economies that the USTR threatened with a 12.5 percent tariff for unfair trading practices. The remaining 16 nations were threatened with a 10 percent tariff.

The move was widely seen as a way of rescuing President Donald Trump’s protectionist trade policy after the U.S. Supreme Court in February struck down the sweeping global tariffs that his administration imposed on allies and adversaries alike last year.

While Vietnam is not the only Southeast Asian nation that has been........

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