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[House Document 107-82]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

107th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 107-82 

 
              CONTINUATION OF WAIVER UNDER THE TRADE ACT

                    OF 1974 WITH RESPECT TO VIETNAM

                               __________

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

NOTIFICATION OF HIS DETERMINATION THAT A CONTINUATION OF A WAIVER 
  CURRENTLY IN EFFECT FOR VIETNAM WILL SUBSTANTIALLY PROMOTE THE 
  OBJECTIVES OF SECTION 402, OF THE TRADE ACT OF 1974 (PRESIDENTIAL 
  DETERMINATION 2001-17), PURSUANT TO 19 U.S.C. 2432(c) AND (d)

June 5, 2001.--Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and ordered 
                             to be printed
                               __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
89-011                     WASHINGTON : 2001

                                           The White House,
                                          Washington, June 1, 2001.
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Speaker: I hereby transmit a report including my 
reasons for determining that continuation of the waiver 
currently in effect for Vietnam under subsection 402(d)(1) of 
the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the ``Act''), will 
substantially promote the objectives of section 402 of the Act.
            Sincerely,
                                                    George W. Bush.
                [Presidential Determination No. 2001-17]

                                           The White House,
                                          Washington, June 1, 2001.
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 section 
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.
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 twelve 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 have 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.
    The Government of Vietnam (GVN) cooperates with the United 
States Government to process applicants under ODP and the 
Resettlement Opportunity for Vietnamese Returnees (ROVR) 
program. The GVN issues passports and exit permits to 
Vietnamese approved for admission to the United States and, in 
the case of ROVR applicants, expedites the departure clearance 
process. In FY 1999, we completed processing of the majority of 
ODP and ROVR cases.
    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 ODP and ROVR cases. A 
new, in-country program to address the rescue 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 May 11, 2001, the GVN has cleared for interview all 
but 73 of the nearly 21,000 individuals who applied for 
consideration under the ROVR program. Applicants cleared for 
interview by the GVN must gather necessary documents to support 
their applications and be scheduled for an interview with the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The INS 
hasapproved 17,168 for admission to the United States, 16,163 of whom 
have departed to the United States. An additional 21 individuals await 
INS interview.
    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 reeducation camp 
because of their association with the United States or the 
former South Vietnamese government. As of May 2001, there were 
78 HO cases (comprising 331 persons) that the GVN had not yet 
cleared for interview.
    A sub-group of the HO program consists of applicants 
covered by the ``McCain Amendment.'' 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 
on their parents' cases. As the result of extensions and 
modifications to the legislation since its initial passage in 
October 1996, several thousand adult children of re-education 
detainees 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 May 11, 2001, nearly 700 cases (comprising some 1,700 
individuals) remain to be processed for resettlement under this 
program.
    The GVN also continues to cooperate on refugee cases 
involving Montagnards, a term commonly used to identify members 
of ethnic minorities who traditionally have lived in highland 
areas. Of the 85 active cases in this category, 37 cases 
(consisting of 333 people) remain to be cleared for interview. 
The United States Government will continue to press the GVN to 
clear for interview and processing the remaining Montagnard 
refugee cases.
    The United States Government is also committed to interview 
those individuals eligible for the ODP sub-program for former 
United States Government employees who did not receive 
interviews because of the 1996 suspension of the program by the 
United States. In November 2000, we completed the review of the 
files of applicants who had not been processed under this 
category and determined that 940 applicants are eligible for 
interview. We have sought reconfirmation from the Vietnamese of 
authorization to proceed with the program and are awaiting 
their response. We anticipate interviews under this program 
will commence later this year.
    The GVN also continues to cooperate in the timely 
processing of current non-refugee immigrant visa cases. The 
first half of fiscal year 2001, our consular sections issued 
9,259 immigrant visas and 6,596 non-immigrant visas. The 
Department of State anticipates that demand in Vietnam for 
immigrant and non-immigrant visas will grow.
    The United States will not consider our refugee programs to 
be completed until the last applicant has had the opportunity 
to be interviewed, or we have an acceptable accounting of 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 who registered to be 
interviewed for resettlement in the United States as refugees.
    These efforts, together with the extension of the Jackson-
Vanik waiver, will encourage the Vietnamese to further 
liberalize their emigration policy and to continue to resolve 
procedural issues that affect our refugee and immigration 
programs.

                                  
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