Thursday, February 17 2000
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Clinton pledged yesterday to push
for a quick vote on granting China normal trade relations.
His top trade negotiator, meanwhile, told Congress that a rejection
of the effort would be ``devastating'' to U.S.-Chinese relations.
``I believe this agreement will change China from within more
than all the other economic openings of the last 20 years combined,''
Clinton said at a White House news conference.
But in a sign of what is shaping up as one of the biggest legislative
fights this year, labor leaders announced that they would begin
running a ``No blank check for China'' television and radio ad
campaign next week.
The campaign is to start in about a dozen House districts in an
effort to convince wavering lawmakers.
While U.S. businesses and farm groups lobby in support of a measure
they believe will boost their export sales by billions of dollars
in the world's largest market, opponents argue that the deal is
bad for U.S. workers.
The foes say it will allow more U.S. corporations to locate facilities
in China to take advantage of cheap labor.
``The vote over normal trade relations with China is a vote over
whether to accelerate the global race to the bottom,'' AFL-CIO
President John Sweeney told reporters at the labor group's winter
meeting in New Orleans.
Those opposing the elimination of the annual vote in Congress
on China's trade status argue that it will take away their leverage
to influence China's policies in such areas as human rights and
religious freedom.
China agreed to drop high barriers to U.S. products as part of
its bid to win membership in the 135-member World Trade Organization,
the Geneva-based body that sets the rules for global trade.
However, administration officials say that U.S. exporters won't
gain the full benefits of China's trade offers until Congress
eliminates the annual review of China's trade status and permanently
grants China the same low tariffs enjoyed by WTO members.
``I am going to push for this as hard as I can. I want to get
the earliest possible vote I can and I can't tell you how important
I think it is,'' Clinton told reporters.
In response to a reporter's question, Clinton ruled out the possibility
of continuing to require an annual review of China's trading status.
Clinton said the United States has to grant the permanent trading
privileges to China for American businesses to benefit from China's
market-opening offers.
However, opponents have raised questions about this stance.
Lori Wallach, head of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, said
a 1979 bilateral trade agreement with China requires that country
to grant the United States the lowest tariffs it grants other
countries, a provision she said still will be in force once China
gains WTO membership.
U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, the administration's
leadoff witness in the congressional lobbying campaign, told the
House Ways and Means Committee yesterday that a negative vote
would be ``quite devastating'' in terms of U.S.-China relations.