Senate Votes on Historic China Trade Bill
W A S H I N G T O N, Sept. 19, 2000 -- The Senate today approved permanentnormal trade status for China, marking a turning point in ahalf-century of stormy relations between the world’s strongestpower and the most-populous nation.
The 83-15 vote effectively ends the annual debate over whethertrade should be used as a tool to sanction China’s communistgovernment for its weapons and human rights policies. It also setsthe stage for Chinese market-opening measures that could meanbillions of dollars in new business for American manufacturers andfarmers.
U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky said the vote was“as important as any on China since 1972, with the opening ofChina.” She said it marked a “historic milepost” in the rockyrelations that have existed since Mao Tse-tung brought thecommunists to power in 1949.
The bill now goes to President Clinton for his signature.
‘A Defining Moment’
Sen. William Roth, R-Del., chairman of the Finance Committee,called the vote “a defining moment in the history of this chamberand in the history of our country.”
Not only will it open new business opportunities, he said, itwill help “in meeting what is likely to be our single greatestforeign policy challenge in the coming decades, managing ourrelations with a rising China.”
The legislation, the most important trade bill since the 1993North American Free Trade Agreement, enjoyed the potent backing ofClinton, the congressional Republican leadership and the nation’smajor business and agriculture groups. Both presidentialcandidates, Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush,support permanent trade.
“It represents the most significant opportunity that we havehad to create positive change in China since the 1970s, whenPresident Nixon first went there and later in the decade whenPresident Carter normalized relations,” Clinton said in a speechearlier this year.
It has been opposed by labor, human rights and conservativegroups who say it is wrong to give up the annual review of Chinatrade that since the 1989 crackdown on the Tiananmen studentmovement has given lawmakers a way to highlight China’s weaponsproliferation and persecution of its citizens.
Most Important Trade Bill Since NAFTA
The legislation is a consequence of a trade agreement betweenthe United States and China last fall that opened the way forChina’s entry into the World Trade Organization. With WTOmembership, China will make significant cuts in its tariffs whileopening its markets to the products and investment of America andother countries. China must also abide by international rules insuch areas as protecting intellectual property.
In Beijing, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Sun Yuxi, toldreporters, “The early resolution of this issue not only serves theinterests of China; it is also in the interests of the UnitedStates itself.”
The PNTR legislation would go into effect when China joins theWTO, probably late this year or early next year. Currently, under a1974 law, trade relations with communist states must be reviewedannually.
The United States, which already has open markets, made no newconcessions as part of the agreement, but must grant permanenttrade status before it can share in China’s market-openingmeasures.
Alex Jackson of the American Farm Bureau Federation said thatwith China’s agriculture tariffs slated to be cut in half, Americanexports of farm products could increase by $2 billion a year.
Not All in Congress Pleased
There will be “unprecedented opportunities,” said JohnSchachter of the Business Roundtable, with “the opening of theworld’s largest emerging marketplace to goods and services thatlargely have been kept out until now.”
In addition to lower tariffs, under WTO rules China must alsogrant Americans and others the right to set up distribution pointswithin the country, must open its financial and service sectors toforeign competitors and must allow outside participation in itsInternet and telecommunications development.
Despite those benefits, Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., said Mondaythat it was a “dangerous mistake” for Congress to give away itsvoice on trade relations when China’s security threats and humanrights abuses are getting worse. “We are putting profits overpeople,” he said. “It’s plain wrong and it’s un-American.”
The House passed the PNTR bill last May by 237-197. The onlyreal suspense during two weeks of Senate debate was whetheropponents could be prevented from attaching crippling amendments onsubjects ranging from proliferation to human rights abuses. Theconcern was that the House wouldn’t have time to act on any Senatechanges before Congress adjourns next month.