Vietnam goods could face delays at U.S. docks

Vietnam goods could face delays at U.S. docks A Web site operated by the Vietnam government is reporting that some apparel shipments to the United States will be unexpectedly held up in ports early next year.
   'In mid-December, many batches of apparel products were shipped to the U.S. under orders signed with U.S. partners. However, the batches of products will be held up until Jan. 11, 2007, when Vietnam officially implements its WTO commitments,' reports VietNamNet Bridge.
   'Experts said that the Vietnamese apparel products that will arrive in the U.S. will be stuck in U.S. ports for the first 10 days of 2007 as the quota for apparel exports to the U.S. has run out and Vietnam is still not a full member of the WTO, and thus cannot enjoy the non-quota scheme,' the online paper reported. 'The quota scheme on apparel exports to the U.S., which has been imposed on Vietnam for the last several years, will be removed as of Jan. 11.'
   It quoted the deputy chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Textile, Garment, Weaving and Embroidery Association Pham Xuan Hong as saying Vietnamese enterprises had not been informed about that, and that Vietnamese businesses thought WTO membership would automatically bring the removal of the quota scheme; therefore, they began shipping the products for 2007 contracts in mid December.
   'Vietnamese enterprises will surely have to pay a lot of money to keep their products at the ports,' the Web site said.
   It quoted Hong as saying the association had sent a dispatch to the Ministry of Trade of Vietnam, requesting for intervention to help the enterprises, but that an official from the ministry said he could not see any possibility of having the apparel products cleared 10 days before Vietnam initiates its WTO commitments.