He also said that it may be time to consider relaxing U.S. restrictions on the sale of military items to Vietnam. In 2010, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding that Obama Administration officials said would be a "stepping stone" to a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement, under which the United States could license the export of nuclear reactor and research information, material, and equipment to Vietnam. Introduction

Since 2002, overlapping strategic and economic interests have led the United States and Vietnam to improve relations across a wide spectrum of issues. Over the past several years, the two sides also have signed a new agreement on civilian nuclear cooperation and have increased their non-proliferation cooperation. In 2013, President Obama and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang met in the White House and announced a bilateral "comprehensive partnership" that is to provide an "overarching framework" for moving the relationship to a "new phase." Interests and Goals in the Bilateral Relationship

Currently, factors generating U.S. interest in the relationship include growing trade and investment flows, the population of more than 1 million Americans of Vietnamese descent, the legacy of the Vietnam War, the perception that Vietnam is becoming a "middle power" with commensurate influence in Southeast Asia, and shared concern over the rising strength of China. U.S. goals with respect to Vietnam include opening markets for U.S. trade and investment, furthering human rights and democracy within the country, countering China's increasing regional influence, cooperating to ensure freedom of navigation and operation in and around the South China Sea, and expanding U.S. influence in Southeast Asia. Securing greater access to the U.S. market, which already is the largest destination for Vietnam's export, would boost Vietnam's economy and is a major reason Vietnam is participating in the TPP negotiations. Ultimately, the pace and extent of the improvement in bilateral relations is limited by several factors, including Hanoi's wariness of upsetting Beijing, U.S. scrutiny of Vietnam's human rights record, and Vietnamese conservatives' suspicions that the United States' long-term goal is to end the Vietnamese Communist Party's (VCP's) monopoly on power through a "peaceful evolution" strategy. Sometime in 2014, Congress may also take up the U.S.-Vietnam nuclear energy cooperation agreement. However, the rules regarding consideration of such "123 agreements" reduce Congress' ability to use them to influence U.S. policy: the agreements enter into force upon the 90 th day of continuous session after its submittal to Congress (a period of 30 plus 60 days of review) unless Congress enacts a Joint Resolution of disapproval. The Obama Administration appeared to be reluctant to schedule one in part due to concerns about the perceived deterioration in Vietnam's human rights conditions. Since the mid-2000s, the United States has been Vietnam's largest single-country export market; in 2013, exports to the United States represented about 18% of Vietnam's total exports. Trade in catfish has been particularly controversial, both with Vietnam and within the United States. Human Rights Issues

			Overview

Vietnam is a one-party, authoritarian state. For more than a decade, the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) appears to have followed a strategy of informally permitting (while not necessarily legalizing) most forms of personal and religious expression while selectively repressing individuals and organizations that it deems a threat to the party's monopoly on power. Human Rights in U.S.-Vietnam Relations

In general, differences over human rights between the U.S. and Vietnamese governments have not prevented the two countries from improving the overall relationship. Additionally, concerns about Vietnam's human rights record are likely to complicate Congress' debate over a TPP agreement, if the current negotiations are successful. The Vietnam Human Rights Act

Since the 107 th Congress, when Members of Congress became concerned with Vietnamese government crackdowns against protestors in the Central Highlands region, various legislative attempts have been made to link U.S. assistance to the human rights situation in Vietnam. Vietnam-China Relations

			History

Vietnam's relations with China, Vietnam's most important bilateral relationship, have been fraught with ambivalence for thousands of years. For instance, since the late 2000s Vietnam has sought to upgrade its relations with outside powers, such as the United States and Japan. 116 (Kinzinger)/ S.J.Res. H.J.Res. S.J.Res.
After communist North Vietnam's victory over U.S.-backed South Vietnam in 1975, the United States and Vietnam had minimal relations until the mid-1990s. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1995, overlapping security and economic interests have led the two sides to expand relations across a wide range of sectors. In 2013, President Obama and his Vietnamese counterpart announced a "comprehensive partnership" that is to provide a framework for moving the relationship to a "new phase." A key factor driving the two countries together is a shared concern about China's increased assertiveness in Southeast Asia, particularly in the South China Sea.
In 2014, the 113th Congress is likely to confront four inter-related issues with respect to U.S. relations with Vietnam: a 2014 bilateral nuclear energy cooperation agreement; Vietnam's participation with the United States in the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement negotiations; questions about how the United States can influence human rights conditions inside Vietnam; and a debate over bilateral security ties, including whether to consider relaxing restrictions on military sales to Vietnam.
U.S. and Vietnamese Interests
In the United States, voices favoring improved relations have included those reflecting U.S. business interests in Vietnam's growing economy and U.S. strategic interests in expanding cooperation with a populous country—Vietnam has over 90 million people—that has an ambivalent relationship with China. Others argue that improvements in bilateral relations should be contingent upon Vietnam's authoritarian government improving its record on human rights. The population of more than 1 million Vietnamese Americans, as well as legacies of the Vietnam War, also drive continued U.S. interest.
Vietnamese leaders have sought to upgrade relations with the United States in part due to the desire for continued access to the U.S. market and to their worries about China's expanding influence in Southeast Asia. That said, Vietnam's relationship with China is its most important. Also, some Vietnamese officials remain suspicious that the United States' long-term goal is to erode the Vietnamese Communist Party's (VCP's) monopoly on power.
Economic Ties
The United States is Vietnam's largest export market and in some years its largest source of foreign direct investment. Bilateral trade in 2013 was almost $30 billion, a more than 60% increase since 2010. The United States and Vietnam are 2 of 12 countries negotiating the TPP. To go into effect, legislation to implement a TPP agreement (if one is reached) would require approval by both houses of Congress. Since the late 2000s, annual U.S. aid typically surpasses $100 million, much of it for health-related activities.
Human Rights
Human rights are perhaps the most contentious issue in the relationship. Although disagreements over Vietnam's human rights record have not prevented the two sides from improving relations, they appear to limit the pace and extent of these improvements. Vietnam is a one-party, authoritarian state ruled by the VCP, which appears to be following a strategy of informally permitting (though not necessarily legalizing) most forms of personal and religious expression while selectively repressing individuals and organizations that it deems a threat to the party's monopoly on power. Most human rights observers contend that for the past several years, the government has intensified its suppression of dissenters and protestors.
Some human rights advocates have argued that the United States should use Vietnam's participation in the TPP talks as leverage to pressure Hanoi to improve the country's human rights situation. Also, since the 107th Congress, various legislative attempts have been made to link the provision of U.S. aid, as well as arms sales, to Vietnam's human rights record.
U.S.-Vietnam Nuclear Energy Cooperation Agreement
In May 2014 the Obama transmitted to Congress a U.S.-Vietnam nuclear energy cooperation agreement, under which the United States could license the export of nuclear reactor and research information, material, and equipment to Vietnam. S.J.Res. 36, S.J.Res. 39, and H.J.Res. 116 would approve the agreement, which will enter into force upon the 90th day of continuous session after its submittal to Congress (a period of 30 plus 60 days of review) unless Congress enacts a Joint Resolution of disapproval.