
BRUSSELS (AP) -- European lawmakers have overwhelmingly approved free trade and investment deals between the EU and Vietnam that will eliminate almost all tariffs over the next ten years, despite concerns about the human rights situation in the country.
After an influential parliamentary trade committee recommended last month that the agreements should be adopted, lawmakers agreed to back the trade deal on Wednesday by 401 votes to 192, with 40 abstentions. The investment protection deal providing a dispute settlement system was endorsed by 407 lawmakers.