ADVISORY
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

Subcommittee on Trade

Crane Announces Hearing on the President's
Waiver for Vietnam from the Jackson-Vanik Freedom of
Emigration Requirements

Congressman Philip M. Crane (R-IL), Chairman, Subcommittee on Trade of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the President's waiver for Vietnam from the Jackson-Vanik freedom of emigration requirements in Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974. The hearing will take place on Thursday, July 18, 2002, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Oral testimony at this hearing will be from both invited and public witnesses. Invited witnesses will include officials from the U.S. Department of State and the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Also, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee or for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

Vietnam's trade status is subject to the "Jackson-Vanik" provisions in Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974. Title IV sets forth requirements relating to freedom of emigration which must be met or waived by the President in order for a nonmarket economy country to gain access to U.S. Government credits, or credit or investment guarantees, and be granted Normal Trade Relations (NTR) status. On June 4, 2002, the President issued an extension of the waiver from the Jackson-Vanik freedom of emigration requirements for Vietnam (H. Doc. 107-221).

The President's waiver of the freedom of emigration requirements for Vietnam grants NTR status to products imported from Vietnam and gives U.S. exporters doing business in Vietnam access to U.S. Government credits, or credit or investment guarantees, such as those administered by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the Export-Import Bank, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, provided that Vietnam meets the relevant program criteria. The President's waiver authority expires at midnight on July 2 of each year and may be extended on an annual basis upon a Presidential determination and report to Congress that such extension will substantially promote the freedom of emigration objectives in the Act. The waiver authority continues in effect unless disapproved by the Congress, either generally or with respect to a specific country, within 60 calendar days after the expiration of the existing authority.

H.J. Res. 101 was introduced by Representative Rohrabacher (R-CA) on June 25, 2002, and states that Congress does not approve the extension of the authority contained in section 402(c) of the Trade Act of 1974 as recommended by the President to Congress on June 4, 2002, with respect to Vietnam. The effect of this Resolution would be to withdraw the President's Jackson-Vanik waiver for Vietnam.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Crane stated: "US-Vietnam bilateral relations have significantly improved over the last 10 years. Normal Trade Relations is an important component of our bilateral relationship, and I am pleased that the Congress approved the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement last December. We should not undermine the important progress that has been made by withdrawing Normal Trade Relations status for Vietnam."

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The focus of the hearing will be the President's waiver for Vietnam from the Jackson-Vanik freedom of emigration requirements in Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 and H.J.Res. 101, a resolution to disapprove the waiver.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSIONS OF REQUESTS TO BE HEARD:

Requests to be heard at the hearing must be made by telephone to Traci Altman or Bill Covey at (202) 225-1721 no later than the close of business, Thursday, July 11, 2002. The telephone request should be followed by a formal written request faxed to Allison Giles, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515, at (202) 225-2610. The staff of the Subcommittee on Trade will notify by telephone those scheduled to appear as soon as possible after the filing deadline. Any questions concerning a scheduled appearance should be directed to the Subcommittee on Trade staff at (202) 225-6649.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, the Subcommittee may not be able to accommodate all requests to be heard. Those persons and organizations not scheduled for an oral appearance are encouraged to submit written statements for the record of the hearing. All persons requesting to be heard, whether they are scheduled for oral testimony or not, will be notified as soon as possible after the filing deadline.

Witnesses scheduled to present oral testimony are required to summarize briefly their written statements in no more than five minutes. THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. The full written statement of each witness will be included in the printed record, in accordance with House Rules.

In order to assure the most productive use of the limited amount of time available to question witnesses, all witnesses scheduled to appear before the Committee are required to submit 200 copies, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, of their prepared statement for review by Members prior to the hearing. Testimony should arrive at the Subcommittee on Trade office, room 1104 Longworth House Office Building, no later than the close of business on Monday, July 15, 2002, in an open and searchable package. The U.S. Capitol Police will refuse sealed-packaged deliveries to all House Office Buildings. Failure to do so may result in the witness being denied the opportunity to testify in person.

WRITTEN STATEMENTS IN LIEU OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE:

Please Note: Due to the change in House mail policy, any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should send it electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610, by the close of business on Monday, July 22, 2002. Those filing written statements who wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing should deliver their 200 copies to the Subcommittee on Trade in room 1104 Longworth House Office Building, in an open and searchable package 48 hours before the hearing. The U.S. Capitol Police will refuse sealed-packaged deliveries to all House Office Buildings.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1. Due to the change in House mail policy, all statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610, in Word Perfect or MS Word format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3. Any statements must include a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers of each witness.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call (202) 225-1721 or (202) 226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.