An opinion piece in the Washington Times has suggested the redesignation of Vietnam as a market-economy from a non-market economy by the US Department of Commerce would be a ‘huge mistake’ for US stakeholders. The article is penned by Michael Stumo the CEO of the Coalition for a Prosperous America, who argues Vietnam is not a market-economy because:
- Private ownership of land is prohibited;
- The Vietnamese dong is prohibited from being traded internationally; and
- Labour unions are greatly restricted.
Stumo’s core claim is that redesignating Vietnam a market-economy would be akin to normalising relations with China in the hope that it would lead to democratisation. This is, however, somewhat of a false equivalency–China is still considered a non-market economy by the US and trade relations were normalised with Vietnam in 1995.