[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.