Textile War Looms Between US, Vietnam

Textile War Looms Between US, Vietnam

(EXCERPT) Larry Schooler Cooleemee, North Carolina 31 Dec 2003, 19:10
UTC

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The United States and Vietnam re-established diplomatic relations in
1995, nearly two decades after Washington severed ties following the
fall of Saigon and a long, bitter war. Eighteen months ago, the two
countries implemented a bilateral trade agreement, dramatically
lowering tariffs on Vietnamese exports in exchange for a gradual
opening of the Vietnamese market. That has helped Hanoi use some
American economic staples to bolster its economy in a big way. One of
them is textiles, an important industry in North Carolina. And that
has mill workers in the southern state, as well as political and
business leaders, watching and wondering if Vietnam is now friend, or
foe in a new war.

Reporter Larry Schooler traveled to Vietnam to learn how developments
there are affecting life in North Carolina. In the first of two
reports, he looks at the battle for control of the textile market.

This conflict lacks the bloodshed and body count of the late '60's and
early 70's. But the international war for control of the textile and
apparel industry has its own armies, casualties, and battlefields.

One of the front lines in this war is here: Ho Chi Minh City, once
called Saigon, Vietnam's largest metropolis, with around six million
people. Vietnam's developing economy has been ripe for an industry
like textiles because making clothing is "lab...

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---------------------------
Otis Willie
Associate Librarian
The American War Library
http://www.americanwarlibrary.com