Following a decision by the World Trade Organization's General Council on November 7, 2006, Vietnam is set to become the WTO’s 150th member. The General Coucil approved the Southeast Asian country’s membership agreement and Vietnam will become a member 30 days after it has informed the WTO that the deal has been ratified.

The decision ends over 11 years of preparation, including eight years of negotiation. The working party of members negotiating with Viet Nam was set up on January 31, 1995 and met 14 times between July 1998 and October 2006. According to the latest WTO data, Vietnam’s merchandise exports were $26.5 billion in 2004 and its imports were $32.0 billion.