Rarely, if ever, has it compelled countries to lower their trade barriers to U.S. products. And rarely, if ever, has it served U.S. foreign policy interests, as evidenced by the number of nations which, despite decades of receiving millions of dollars of the American taxpayers' money, consistently vote against us at the United Nations. We must ask why trade and investment in Vietnam remains so abysmally low, four years after President Clinton lifted our embargo. The fundamental reason for that is the corrupt and socialist practices of the government of Vietnam. Obstacles to trade and investment appear at every turn in Vietnam.
Corruption is endemic.
There are still no clear property rights. There is no credible judicial system. Data on the banking and state sectors are still tightly controlled. Rather than facilitate reform, OPIC and Ex-Im financing is likely to cement this situation by encouraging business deals that otherwise would not happen. This will put a crutch under the Vietnamese government, allowing it to procrastinate on economic reform.