ACCESSION NUMBER:220060 FILE ID:EP-308 DATE:03/18/92 TITLE:SENATE VOTE SUSTAINS BUSH VETO OF CHINA MFN CONDITIONS (03/18/92) TEXT:*92031808.EPF *EPF308 03/18/92 * SENATE VOTE SUSTAINS BUSH VETO OF CHINA MFN CONDITIONS (Article on U.S.-China Act override vote) (590) By Robert F. Holden USIA Staff Writer Washington -- The Senate failed March 18 to override President Bush's veto of Senate/House legislation that would place conditions on renewing most-favored-nation (MFN) trading status for China. The body actually approved the override motion by a vote of 60-38, but the margin was seven short of the two-thirds majority required to nullify a presidential veto. With few exceptions, the vote followed party lines with most Republicans voting to sustain the president's veto. The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly March 11 for "passage, objections of the president to the contrary notwithstanding" by a margin of 357-61. The wide margin in favor of overriding the presidential veto was expected, however, since the bill, H.R. 2212, was approved by the House in November by a vote of 409-21. For the past two years, it has been the Senate that has been the sticking point for efforts to cancel or condition China's MFN status. The Senate sent the bill to the president February 25 by a vote of 59-39, so the latest vote was no surprise. 1he bill combined H.R. 2212, introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Democrat of California), and S. 1367, which was sponsored by Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (Democrat of Maine). Both bills conditioned renewal of China's MFN trading status on improvements in that country's human rights, trade and weapons transfer practices. If enacted, the law would have prohibited the extension of most-favored-nation treatment to China, unless the president submitted a report to the Congress stating that China had: -- accounted for and released prisoners who have been detained and imprisoned as a result of the nonviolent expression of their political beliefs; -- ceased exporting to the United States products manufactured by convict or forced labor; -- ceased the supply of military arms to the Khmer Rouge; -- adhered to the Joint Declaration with the United Kingdom on Hong Kong; and -- no program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization. The bill required the report to state whether China has made significant progress in: -- engaging in high-level discussions on human rights issues; -- preventing gross violations of human rights in China and Tibet; -- terminating harassment of Chinese citizens in the United States; -- ensuring the access of international human rights monitoring groups to prisoners; -- providing protection of U.S. intellectual property rights; -- providing U.S. exporters access to Chinese markets lowering tariffs, removing nontariff barriers, and increasing the purchase of U.S. goods and services; -- adopting a national policy consistent with specified missile, nuclear, and chemical and biological control agreements; and -- reducing assistance to Cuba. The law also would have terminated most-favored-nation trade status for China if the president determined that it had transferred ballistic missiles or missile launchers for the M-9 or M-11 weapons systems, or material or technology which would significantly contribute to the manufacture of a nuclear weapon by Syria or Iran. In addition, the bill stipulated that the president undertake efforts to ensure that members of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) take similar action to restrict trade with China if the United States denies or terminates China's MFN status. Supporters of the legislation in both houses pledged to renew their efforts to place conditions on China's MFN status before it comes up for renewal in June. NNNN .
