It is not unreasonable that American corporations and the Vietnamese government should lobby for a waiver of the Jackson-Vanik amendment. What is unreasonable, however, is that U.S. taxpayers should have to fund programs which permit investments not economically viable on their own merits and which allow the Vietnamese government to put off economic and political reforms. Everyone talks about the corruption problem in Vietnam, especially the government. Not a single senior government or party official has been publicly accused, let alone punished, for corruption. The root of the problem is that the communist regime is accountable only to itself.
Red tape is another legendary problem.
It is a criminal offense not to have that permission slip. The bureaucratic mess gets worse for larger ventures, especially when they involve foreigners. Finally, there is the problem of non-transparency in Vietnam. The stifling of free information not only discourages foreign investors, but also denies Vietnamese the knowledge they need to do business and take part in their national affairs. It is in the interest of the United States to encourage Vietnam s transition to a market economy.