Economic growth this year is predicted to be half of what it was in 1997. In May, Vietnamese communist Deputy Prime Minister Win Tan Dung said that Vietnam faced tough times ahead, with the gross domestic product expected to continue declining, while the industrial output is at its lowest level in several years. He also spoke of an unhealthy situation in the financial and monetary system, particularly Hanoi's international payment balance, debts to foreign borrowers and a high amount of over-due debt. Many private companies complain about high taxes and government policies that favor bloated state firms. A 1998 World Bank report showed the Vietnamese private sector accounted for less than 3 percent of industrial output.
Corruption is rampant.
The report underscores that Vietnam is one of the only countries in the world where discussing or publishing economic figures is a crime, punishable by prison or labor camp confinement. Mr. Chairman, the resolution I introduced, disapproving of the Jackson-Vanik waiver for the Vietnamese dictatorship, does not intend to isolate Vietnam or stop U.S. companies from doing business in Vietnam. However, if private banks or insurance companies will not back-up or insure private business ventures in Vietnam, American taxpayers should not be asked to recklessly do so. Instead, my resolution sends a strong message to the Hanoi regime that the United States will stand by our democratic principles. The Vietnamese Communists have manipulated American and international generosity to further impoverish and repress their people.