Clinton Sends Congress China Trade Bill

By JONATHAN S. LANDRETH

(Virtual China News -- Mar. 9) President Clinton sent legislation to Congress Wednesday designed to grant China Permanent Normal Trading Relations (PNTR) with the U.S., saying in his announcement of the bill that a vote against it was not in the national interest.

"A vote against PNTR will cost America jobs, as our competitors in Europe, Asia and elsewhere capture Chinese markets that we otherwise would have served," Clinton said.

Granting PNTR to China would enable the United States to benefit from the trade terms the two nations negotiated in November. The U.S. currently grants PNTR to almost all of its trading partners.

Fewer Restrictions

Under the terms of the U.S.-China Bilateral Trade Agreement American businesses would be allowed to enter broader segments of the Chinese telecommunications and agriculture markets, with fewer restrictions and lower import tariffs imposed against them.

The President stressed that under the terms of the agreement American companies would no longer be forced into joint-ventures in order to be allowed to sell to China's markets.

"We'll be able to export products without exporting jobs," Clinton said.

Clinton has urged Congress to pass the market-opening agreement by June, and Senate leaders said Tuesday that they agreed to "expedite" the vote though no dates were set for a vote in the Finance Committee, the first committee scheduled to consider the bill.

Finance Committee Chairman William Roth, a Delaware Republican, told reporters Tuesday it would be the most "important vote we will take this year if not this decade."

Though PNTR is often billed as a prerequisite for China's entry into the World Trade Organization, no matter how Congress votes on the bill Clinton introduced today, it is widely believed that China will accede to the WTO within a year. China has been trying to gain membership to the global trade policy body for 13 years.

In his speech Clinton acknowledged that China must choose its own course in the 21st century and said that in the current climate it is a nation often perceived either as a "capitalist tiger with the biggest market in the world" or as the "last great communist dragon and a threat to stability in Asia." However, he encouraged his audience at the School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University to understand that passing the PNTR legislation would have a positive effect on U.S.-China relations.

"We can work to pull China in the right direction, or we can turn our backs and almost certainly push it in the wrong direction," Clinton said.

Bipartisan Support

Clinton talked with members of Congress Tuesday and the Senate majority leader, Republican Trent Lott, left that meeting more willing to go forward with the legislation than in the past, according to reports. But the problem facing the Administration among Democrats remained. By some estimates, two-thirds of the Democrats in the House won't vote for the bill fearing opposition from labor and human rights groups.

In the Senate the vote may be close, according to Republican Lott of Mississippi and Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, who told reporters Tuesday night that they expected at least 60 senators to support the White House.

"A day doesn't go by with the President not working on trying to get permanent normal trade relations with China," White House spokesman Joe Lockhart told reporters. "He's met with undecideds; he's met with CEOs -- he met with a group of high-tech CEOs -- and he met with some workers, because this all impacts every level of our society."

Next month, the White House is sponsoring for two separate delegations to China for members of Congress, led respectively by Secretary Agriculture Dan Glickman and Secretary of Commerce William Daley. Both trips are expected to further the estimated $12 million lobbying effort through the announcements of major deals and new partnerships between U.S. and Chinese companies.

To reach Jonathan S. Landreth: jslandreth@virtualchina.net