[House Document 108-191]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                     

108th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 108-191

 
 A REPORT TO THE CONGRESS CONCERNING THE EXTENSION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY 
                              FOR VIETNAM

                               __________

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

   A RECOMMENDATION TO CONTINUE IN EFFECT A WAIVER OF APPLICATION OF 
 SUBSECTIONS (a) AND (b) OF SECTION 402 OF THE TRADE ACT OF 1974 WITH 
RESPECT TO VIETNAM FOR A FURTHER A 12-MONTH PERIOD AND A DETERMINATION 
 THAT CONTINUATION OF THE WAIVER CURRENTLY IN EFFECT FOR VIETNAM WILL 
SUBSTANTIALLY PROMOTE THE OBJECTIVES OF SECTION 402 OF THE ACT AND THE 
 REASONS FOR SUCH A DETERMINATION, PURSUANT TO 19 U.S.C. 2432 (c) AND 
                                  (d)




June 3, 2004.--Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and ordered 
                             to be printed.
To the Congress of the United States:
    I hereby transmit the document referred to in subsection 
402(d)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (the ``Act''), as amended, 
with respect to the continuation of a waiver of application of 
subsections (a) and (b) of section 402 of the Act to Vietnam. 
This document constitutes my recommendation to continue in 
effect this waiver for a further 12-month period and includes 
my determination that continuation of the waiver currently in 
effect for Vietnam will substantially promote the objectives of 
section 402 of the Act and my reasons for such determination.

                                                    George W. Bush.
    The White House, June 3, 2004.
Report to the Congress Concerning the Extension of Waiver Authority for 
                                Vietnam

    Pursuant to Subsection 402(d)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, 
as amended (``the Act''), I hereby recommend further extension 
of the waiver authority granted by Subsection 402(c) of the Act 
for 12 months. I have determined that such extension will 
substantially promote the objectives of Section 402 of the Act, 
and that continuation of the waiver currently applicable to 
Vietnam will also substantially promote the objectives of 
Section 402 of the Act. My determination is attached and is 
incorporated herein.
Freedom of Emigration Determination
    Overall, Vietnam's emigration policy has liberalized 
considerably in the last decade and a half. Vietnam has a solid 
record of cooperation with the United States to permit 
Vietnamese emigration. Over 500,000 Vietnamese emigrated as 
refugees or immigrants to the United States under the Orderly 
Departure Program (ODP), and only a small number of refugee 
applicants remain to be processed.
    On September 30, 1999, the Department of State closed the 
ODP office in Bangkok, Thailand and opened the Refugee 
Resettlement Section (RRS) at the United States Consulate 
General in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The RRS continues to 
process the small number of remaining cases from the ODP and 
Resettlement Opportunity for Vietnamese Returnees (ROVR) 
programs. An in-country program to address the needs of 
individuals who have suffered recent persecution or who have a 
well-founded fear of future persecution on account of race, 
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, 
or political opinion, is also managed by the RRS.
    As of April 22, 2004, the Government of Vietnam (GVN) has 
cleared for interview all but 22 of the nearly 21,000 
individuals who applied for consideration under the ROVR 
program. They cleared 20 persons last year. Many of those 
awaiting clearance are family members who were added on to the 
case after the principal applicants had received interview 
clearance from the GVN. Applicants cleared for interview by the 
GVN must gather necessary documents to support their 
applications and be scheduled for an interview with the Bureau 
of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS). The BCIS has 
approved 17,248 for admission to the United States, 16,459 of 
whom have departed from Vietnam for the United States. 
Anadditional 7 individuals await BCIS interview. The GVN cooperates 
with the United States Government to process applicants under the ROVR 
program. The GVN issues passports to Vietnamese approved for admission 
to the United States and expedites the departure clearance process.
    Completion of the Former Re-education Camp Detainees 
program, known popularly as the ``HO'' program, remains a high 
priority. To be eligible for this program, applicants must have 
been detained for at least three years in a re-education camp 
because of their association with the United States or the 
former South Vietnamese government. As of April 22, 2004, there 
were 18 HO cases (comprising 42 persons) awaiting passports.
    A sub-group of the HO program consists of the applicants 
covered by the ``McCain Amendment'' (P.L. 104-208, as amended). 
These applicants are persons over the age of 21 who are the 
sons and daughters of former re-education camp detainees who 
were approved for admission as refugees and for various reasons 
were not included in their parents' cases. As the result of 
extensions and modifications to the legislation since its 
initial passage in October 1996, over 11,800 adult children and 
their accompanying family members have been able to join their 
parents in the United States. The number of children eligible 
for processing in this category changes constantly as new 
applications are received and others are processed and depart 
for the United States. As of April 22, 2004, 316 cases 
(comprising 873 individuals) are ready to be presented to DHS 
for interview. However, the most recent version of the McCain-
Davis Amendment expired on September 30, 2003. Although 
legislation extending this provision has been introduced in 
Congress, it has not yet been passed or enacted into law. Until 
an extension of the McCain Amendment is enacted, the United 
States Government processing of the 316 pending cases has been 
suspended.
    The GVN is also cooperating on the processing of the few 
remaining outstanding Montagnard (a term commonly used to 
identify members of ethnic minorities who traditionally have 
lived in Central Highland areas) ODP HO cases. Only 4 cases 
(consisting of 16 people) remain to be cleared for interview. 
This is a decrease of 5 cases and 69 persons since last year.
    In June 2002, the United States Government completed 
interviews of the 704 cases determined eligible for 
consideration for refugee status under the ODP sub-program for 
former United States Government employees (commonly referred to 
as the U-11 program). These cases had not previously 
beeninterviewed because the United States Government suspended the 
program in 1996. The RRS will process an additional nine cases that had 
been presumed abandoned by the applicants, but who later contacted the 
RRS to reactivate their applications. Of the cases approved for refugee 
resettlement in the United States, only 1 case has yet to depart 
Vietnam. None are being restrained from leaving by the GVN.
    The GVN also continues to cooperate in the timely 
processing of current immigrant visa cases. In the first half 
of fiscal year 2004, our consular sections issued 9,033 
immigrant visas and 8,358 non-immigrant visas. The Department 
of State anticipates that demand in Vietnam for immigrant and 
non-immigrant visas will rise.
    The United States will not consider its refugee programs to 
be completed until the last eligible applicant has had the 
opportunity to be interviewed, or until there is an acceptable 
opportunity to be interviewed, or until there is an acceptable 
accounting for each case. United States Government officials 
both in Washington and Vietnam will continue to press the GVN 
at every level to authorize interviews for all those applicants 
determined eligible for consideration for resettlement in the 
United States as refugees.
    In addition, the United States Government has initiated 
talks with the Government of Vietnam to re-open access to the 
HO, U-11 and V-11 (former employees of U.S. Businesses) 
categories, in the belief that there remain certain individuals 
who would qualify for these categories, but who, through no 
fault of their own, could not access processing during the 
previous operation of the program. The United States Government 
closed registration for the ODP program on September 30, 1994. 
Talks were held in Hanoi on March 29-30, 2004, and agreement in 
principle to resumption of humanitarian resettlement processing 
was reached. Additional technical talks are necessary and will 
take place in the near future to finalize the proposed 
framework. The attitude of the Vietnamese government has been 
generally positive and cooperative with respect to the United 
States Government proposals.
    Unrest in the Central Highlands in 2001 and again this year 
reflects, in part, concerns there about economic inequality, 
discrimination, land rights and freedom of religion. We are in 
discussions with the Government of Vietnam concerning ways to 
ease the tensions and improve the situation in this region. 
Historically, some Montagnards from this area have faced 
challenges in accessing our refugee resettlement programs due 
to difficulty in communications, travel, and restrictions from 
local officials. When such situations arise we press the GVN to 
ameliorate these problems.
    The programs described above, together with the extension 
of the Jackson-Vanik waiver, will encourage the Vietnamese to 
liberalize further their emigration policy and to continue to 
resolve procedural issues that affect U.S. refugee and 
immigration programs.
                [Presidential Determination No. 2004-34]

                                           The White House,
                                          Washington, June 3, 2004.
Memorandum for the Secretary of State
Subject: Determination Under Subsection 402(d)(1) of the Trade Act of 
        1974, as Amended--Continuation of Waiver Authority for Vietnam

    Pursuant to the authority vested in me under the Trade Act 
of 1974, as amended, Public Law 93-618, 88 Stat. 1978 
(hereinafter the ``Act''), I determine, pursuant to subsection 
402(d)(1) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. 2432(d)(1), that the further 
extension of the waiver authority granted by section 402 of the 
Act will substantially promote the objectives of section 402 of 
the Act. I further determine that continuation of the waiver 
applicable to Vietnam will substantially promote the objectives 
of section 402 of the Act.
    You are authorized and directed to publish this 
determination in the Federal Register.

                                                    George W. Bush.

                                  
