Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR) Communist regime backed by China and Vietnam

The Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) runs the Country. The LPRP is the only legal political party in Laos. The ruling communists maintain strict control over the media. The government owns all newspapers and broadcast media who may only disseminate news, which is favorable to the party. Slandering the state, distorting party policies and spreading false rumors are all criminal offences.

Drug Trade: The estimated opium poppy cultivation in 2005 was 5,600 hectares. The estimated potential opium production in 2005 was 28 metric tons, along with unsubstantiated reports of domestic methamphetamine production. The massive drug production and trafficking industry centered in the Golden Triangle makes Laos an important narcotics transit country.

By most international estimates, Laos is one of the 10 poorest countries in the world. The farmers who make up more than 80% of the population have been plagued with bad agricultural conditions-alternately floods and drought. The national life expectancy is only 55.89 years.

Laos import/export trade in mainly with Thailand, Vietnam, France, Germany, UK, China, Singapore but in late 2004, Laos gained Normal Trade Relations status with the US, allowing Laos-based producers to benefit from lower tariffs on exports.

A landlocked nation in Southeast Asia, Laos is surrounded by China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Burma. It is slightly larger than Utah, U.S.A.

Laos remains a country with a primitive infrastructure. It has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, and limited external and internal telecommunications. Outside the capital, many people live without electricity or access to basic facilities.

There is a comparatively small anti-Communist rebel group within the country that has been protesting the government's reluctance to embrace democratic reforms, we salute them, but the authorities deal with any public dissent harshly.

Several small bomb blasts in recent years in and around the capital, Vientiane, have suggested that opposition to the ruling party may be growing.

The country's human rights record has come under scrutiny. Laos denies accusations of abuses by the military against the ethnic minority Hmong, who have been fighting a low-level rebellion against the communist regime since 1975.

Of note, in July 2002, the government broadcasted Prime Ministerial Decree 92 governing religious practice. Since the end of the Indochina conflict, a low-level insurgency against the regime has continued. The incidents have included a series of bombings in the capital during the summer of 2000 and renewed spikes of violence in 2003 and 2004 against various types of land transportation and public markets. There were reports of continued fighting in 2005 and 2007. The United States does not endorse or support violent activities carried out against the Lao Government.

In December 2004, our President signed into law a bill extending normal trade relations to Laos; in February 2005, the Bilateral Trade Agreement between the United States and Laos entered into force. There has been a consequent rise in Lao exports to the U.S. Bilateral trade reached $15.7 million in 2006, compared with $8.9 million in 2003. The Lao Government is working to implement the provisions of the Bilateral Trade Agreement while simultaneously seeking to join the World Trade Organization. Bbc.co.uk

Normal Trade Relations status with the US, allows Laos-based producers to benefit from lower tariffs on exports. Laos is taking steps to join the World Trade Organization in the next few years; the resulting trade policy reforms will improve the business environment. On the fiscal side, a value-added tax (VAT) regime, slated to begin in 2008, will streamline the government's inefficient tax system. Cia.gov

The Bush administration said opening trade will give the Lao government incentive to end their repressive tactics. This has worked so well with China…

Somehow the United States has turned a blind eye to the facts about Laos as exports to the U.S. reached $15.7 million in 2006. As of May 07 we the U. S. had imported 11 million dollars worth of goods from Laos. Census.gov

Remember, although our first choice is always American made, it is not always possible so we look for countries that at least do not persecute their citizens for voicing their opinions or practicing the religion of their choice.