The third issue is that we have to commit to give Vietnamese employees the right of forming association. Employees can gather themselves to talk to employers and to help each other in the hours of need.
The right of forming association is one of the rights given by The Creator to people who are able to work and go to work to defend themselves. This is one of the standard regulations by ILO in which Vietnam is one member. This is also a universal norm in the civilized social life.
In the past BTA negotiation with the US, Vietnam had been insisting the US on giving it the GSP which stated the condition of applying zero tax on some thousand of goods imported to the US which mainly were art and craft products, sedges, etc.
The US remained its firm in rejection as its GSP law claims some strict requirements including the right of forming association.
In the final negotiation round and in the private meeting of the two delegation leaders, “We shall just write on the BTA that the US will consider giving Vietnam the GSP, yet when the consideration starts, whether we get it or not we’ll talk later”, I said to Mr. Joe Damond – leader of the US negotiation delegation. He found the suggestion sensible and he agreed.
Returning to our country, I dared not boast about that win because I knew it was just words pleasing BTA so that everybody was happy, but someone reported that we had been patient in fighting and making the US give us the GSP and we won!
I heard that later on, after many years of negotiation, up to now the US has not approved to grant Vietnamese goods the GSP since Vietnam has not fulfill the requirement of forming association.
This time, Vietnam cannot avoid this request if we wish to enter TPP. In my opinion, if the US and other countries make consessions, those ones can only be allowing Vietnam a few years to solve domestic structural problems.
Giving the right