EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 275

: The main purpose of Executive Order No. 275 is to direct the Committee on Scientific and Technical Cooperation with Socialist Countries to delete the Socialist Republic of Vietnam from the list of countries covered by Letter of Instructions No. 444.
: Letter of Instructions No. 444 included the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the list of socialist countries and other centrally-planned countries, covering trade relations under that directive.
: Vietnam was removed because it started to move towards an open economy, liberalize its markets, become a member of ASEAN and APEC, and was in the process of accession to the WTO, making continued coverage inconsistent with the Philippines' national interest.
: The Committee is directed to remove the Socialist Republic of Vietnam from the list of countries covered by Letter of Instructions No. 444.
: The policy is to develop and strengthen trade relations with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
: Vietnam's membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and its accession process to the World Trade Organization (WTO) influenced the removal.
: Removing Vietnam eliminates unnecessary barriers to trade by no longer requiring Philippine International Trading Corporation to course trade through it, thus facilitating direct trade relations.
: Ronaldo B. Zamora, the Executive Secretary, signed the Executive Order by authority of the President.