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
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
