Richard Gephardt: “last January, I traveled to South Korea, Cambodia and Vietnam to discuss issues of peace, reconciliation, trade and…”

“last January, I traveled to South Korea, Cambodia and Vietnam to discuss issues of peace, reconciliation, trade and security between the United States and Asia. It was a remarkable trip that helped us to learn. We learned so much about Vietnam and I became convinced that implementation of this Bilateral Trade Agreement is the right policy both for the Vietnamese and the American people. Therefore, I urge Members to vote for the Vietnam trade agreement to establish a regular trade regime between the United States and Vietnam. Thanks to Pete Peterson, former Ambassador to Vietnam, thousands of American and Vietnamese veterans, and the hard work of literally millions of people we have made large strides in reconciling our two nations after the agony of the Vietnam war. Over 50,000 Americans died in that conflict, thousands more were injured, and the war took the lives of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and left the country devastated. Pete Peterson has said: "We cannot change the past. What we can change is the future." Working in this spirit, America and Vietnam have established diplomatic ties, undertaken joint efforts to locate the remains of those still missing in action, and trade between our countries has increased. Last year, the United States and Vietnam completed this bilateral trade agreement, to set the stage for an even closer relationship between our nations and a trade regime that is more robust.”