Vietnam to ratify Pacific Rim trade pact

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong on Friday submitted a Pacific Rim trade pact to the National Assembly for approval, the government said.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership will take effect at the year's end after Australia became the sixth nation to ratify it, earlier this week.

President Donald Trump pulled out of the pact just days after taking office last year. The remaining 11 members account for more than 13 percent of the world's GDP.

Addressing lawmakers, Trong said the pact reflects Vietnam's strong commitment to reform and comprehensive international integration.

It also "affirms Vietnam's role and important geo-political position in Southeast Asia as well as Asia Pacific," the government website quoted Trong as telling the national assembly.

But the pact presents challenges for communist-ruled Vietnam and will require adjustments for its legal and other institutions, he said.

The Communist-dominated assembly is expected to ratify the accord next week.

Addressing the assembly, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, who is also deputy prime minister, cited a government study as saying the trade pact will boost Vietnam's GDP by 1.3 percentage points. Exports will also gain momentum.

The agreement is expected to improve Vietnam's investment environment and to create between 20,000 to 26,000 more new jobs a year, he said.

Vietnam is expected to be one of the members that would most benefit from it with its strong base of exports of garments, shoes, seafood and agricultural products.

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