EU Trade Representative Karel de Gucht told a press conference in Hanoi that he had made an offer to 'engage as soon as possible in formal negotiations on an FTA.'

De Gucht made the offer in a meeting Tuesday morning with Vietnam's Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang. De Gucht was scheduled to meet later Tuesday with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

But De Gucht said European anti-dumping tariffs on Vietnamese shoes would continue because inspections had shown that Vietnamese firms were still exporting shoes at below-market prices.

'Either there is dumping or there isn't,' De Gucht said.

The EU decided in December to extend anti-dumping tariffs imposed in 2006 against Vietnamese and Chinese shoes for 15 months. In February, China filed a suit at the World Trade Organization, requesting that the tariffs be struck down.

Vietnam has not yet indicated whether it is to join the suit.

De Gucht said negotiations on the FTA were not explicitly linked to the EU's assessment of Vietnam's human rights performance, but that ultimately any pact would have to be ratified by the European Parliament, which does consider such issues.

The parliament has criticized Vietnam in recent months for a crackdown on democracy activists and for restrictions on internet freedom.

De Gucht's next stop on his tour of South-East Asia is due to be Singapore, where the EU is also opening negotiations on an FTA.

De Gucht said bilateral FTAs had become a priority in the region because ongoing talks on an FTA between the EU and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) had been complicated by the disparity in development levels between different ASEAN members.

The EU is Vietnam's second-largest export market after the US. In 2009, Vietnam exported goods worth 9.3 billion dollars to the EU, down 14.4 per cent from 2008. Major export categories include footwear, garments and seafood.

deutche Presse Agentur - March 2, 2010