[House Document 108-80]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
108th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 108-80
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 CONTINUATION OF THE WAIVER
CURRENTLY IN EFFECT FOR VIETNAM WILL SUBSTANTIALLY PROMOTE THE
OBJECTIVES OF SECTION 402 OF THE TRADE ACT OF 1974, PURSUANT TO 19
U.S.C. 2432(c) AND (d)
June 3, 2003.--Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and ordered
to be printed
The White House,
Washington, DC, May 29, 2003.
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Speaker: I hereby transmit the document referred
to in subsection 402(d)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (the
``Act''), as amended, with respect to the continuation of a
waiver of application of subsections (a) and (b) of section 402
of the Act to Vietnam. This document constitutes my
recommendation to continue in effect this waiver for a further
12-month period and includes my determination that continuation
of the waiver currently in effect for Vietnam will
substantially promote the objectives of section 402 of the Act
and my reasons for such determination.
Sincerely,
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 12 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 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.
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 cases from the ODP and
Resettlement Opportunity for Vietnamese Returnees (ROVR)
programs. An 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 April 21, 2003, the Government of Vietnam (GVN) has
cleared for interview all but 42 of the nearly 21,000
individuals who applied for consideration under the ROVR
program. This is an increase of 21 from last year as several
cases that were previously closed were reactivated after
applicants reinitiated contact with the RRS. Many of those
awaiting clearance are family members who were added on to the
case after the principal applicants had received interview
clearance from the GVN. Applicants cleared for interview by the
GVN must gather necessary documents to support their
applications and be scheduled for an interview with the Bureau
of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS). The BCIS has
approved 17,228 for admission to the United States, 16,439 of
whom have departed from Vietnam for the United States. An
additional 9 individuals await BCIS interview. The GVN
cooperates with the United States Government to process
applicants under the ROVR program. The GVN issues passports to
Vietnamese approved for admission to the United States and
expedites the departure clearance process.
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 3 years in a re-education camp
because of their association with the United States or the
former South Vietnamese Government. As of April 21, there were
15 HO cases (comprising 80 persons) awaiting passports.
A sub-group of the HO program consists of the applicants
covered by the ``McCain Amendment'' (Public Law 104-208, as
amended). 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 in their parents' cases. As
the result of extensions and modifications to the legislation
since its initial passage in October 1996, over 11,000 adult
children and their accompanying family members 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 April 21, 278
cases (comprising 760 individuals) are being processed for
resettlement under this program.
The GVN is also cooperating on refugee cases involving
Montagnards, a term commonly used to identify members of ethnic
minorities who traditionally have lived in Central Highland
areas. Only 9 cases (consisting of 85 people) remain to be
cleared for interview. Since June 1, 2002, 34 Montagnard cases
(156 individuals) have departed Vietnam under various
immigration and refugee programs.
In June 2002, the United States Government completed
interviews of the 704 cases determined eligible for
consideration for refugee status under the ODP sub-program for
former United States Government employees (commonly referred to
as the U-11 program). These cases had not previously been
interviewed because the United States Government suspended the
program in 1996. The RRS will process an additional nine
casesthat had been presumed abandoned by the applicants, but who later
contacted the RRS to reactivate their applications. Of the class
approved for refugee resettlement in the United States, only 15 cases
have yet to depart Vietnam. None are being restrained from leaving by
the GVN.
The GVN also continues to cooperate in the timely
processing of current non-refugee immigrant visa cases. In the
first half of fiscal year 2003, our consular sections issued
6,864 immigrant visas and 6,312 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 for 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 applicants determined
eligible for consideration for settlement 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.
[Presidential Determination No. 2003-24]
The White House,
Washington, DC, May 29, 2003.
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 subsection
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.