    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [July 26, 1999]
    [Page 1325]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Vietnam-United States Relations
    July 26, 1999

        I am pleased that the Office of the United States Trade
    Representative and the Vietnamese Trade Ministry reached an
    understanding in principle on the terms of a broad commercial agreement
    between the United States and Vietnam. This provisional arrangement is a
    major step forward for both countries, and I congratulate our American
    negotiators and those of Vietnam on their work. I will review the
    agreement carefully and consult further with the Congress and the
    Government of Vietnam in the hope that we will be able to move on to
    finalization, formal signature, and the establishment of normal trade
    relations very soon.
        In addition to promoting American commercial interests, enhancing
    our economic relations with Vietnam will also help advance cooperation
    with Vietnam on other issues of importance to our Nation. These include
    obtaining the fullest possible accounting of our missing from the war,
    encouraging continued progress in the freedom of emigration, and seeking
    improvements in the human rights situation in Vietnam. Since the United
    States normalized relations with Vietnam in 1995, we have made steady
    progress in each of those areas. A bilateral trade agreement with
    Vietnam constitutes one more positive step in that process.