Vietnam began the 10th negotiation round with the United States for its entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO) here on Monday, Vietnam News Agency reported.

The talks, scheduled to last until Jan. 18, are to mainly focus on addressing such issues as financial services, telecommunications, taxes on industrial and agricultural goods and services, non-tariff barriers, and business rights.

The U.S. negotiation delegation is led by Dorothy Dwoskin, assistant to the U.S. Trade Representative, while the Vietnamese delegation by Deputy Trade Minister Luong Van Tu, said the report.

Vietnam is expected to finish all bilateral talks on its WTO accession, including those with three key partners, namely the United States, New Zealand and Australia, within this year.

With efforts of both sides, the United States and Vietnam will reach conclusion on their bilateral negotiation soon, so that "by the end of the year (2006), we can welcome Vietnam's accession to the WTO," Christopher Hill, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said at a press briefing in Hanoi capital last week.

Source: Xinhua