05 April 2000
House Speaker Schedules China Trade Vote for Late May
(Clinton, administration officials praise decision) (850) By Bruce Odessey Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- Speaker of the House of Representatives Dennis Hastert has announced that the House will vote on permanent normal trade relations (NTR) for China the week of May 22, drawing praise from President Clinton. "I want to thank the speaker and the leadership of the House for doing this," Clinton said April 5 at the White House Conference on the New Economy, "and I assure you I will do what I can to pass it." Hastert made his announcement following a caucus with fellow House Republicans, asserting that the vote will not be withdrawn from the schedule even if supporters lack the votes to pass the NTR bill. "We are going to have the vote, yes or no," Hastert said. Hastert supports permanent NTR for China, arguing that it will break down barriers and build up trust between the United States and China. He reiterated his view that passage of the bill will require votes from many of Clinton's fellow Democrats and urged Representative Dick Gephardt, the House Democrats' leader, to announce his position. "Is he on the side of free trade and economic growth," Hastert asked, "or is he on the side of the protectionists?" Permanent NTR, or most-favored nation (MFN) status, would end the practice of extending NTR to China annually as U.S. presidents have done since the two countries restored diplomatic relations in 1979. Every year since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, some members of Congress have tried but failed to overturn the president's decision. Senate passage of permanent NTR seems assured, but House passage remains in doubt. House Democrats are torn over the China NTR issue between their support for free trade and their support for organized labor unions, which oppose permanent NTR fiercely. One Democrat, Representative Jose Serrano from New York, said at an April 5 Appropriations subcommittee hearing that he cannot remember another time when the pressure on him over a vote was so great. "We're heading toward a major confrontation," Serrano said. After that hearing, U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky told reporters she expects the pressure from both sides on wavering House members will intensify in the weeks ahead. She said the administration is focusing only on the permanent NTR votes in the House and Senate, not on extending NTR for another year, a decision that Clinton would have to make June 3. "I do believe we will prevail," Barshefsky said. In her subcommittee testimony, Barshefsky said that China would enter the World Trade Organization (WTO) whether or not the United States approved permanent NTR for China. Without permanent NTR, however, China could deny U.S. exporters the benefits of markets it must open in line with WTO accession agreements while other exporters would get those benefits, she said. Barshefsky said the administration was continuing to work with Representative Sander Levin, a House Democrat who has devised legislative language aimed to attract more Democrats' votes for permanent NTR. One part of Levin's proposal would require a commission of congressional and presidential appointees to monitor China's record on human rights and worker rights. The commission could propose WTO-consistent actions against China for rights abuses. Another part would write into U.S. law the provisions of the U.S.-China WTO agreement that allows extraordinary U.S. authority for some years to protect U.S. producers from import surges from China. Secretary of Commerce William Daley issued a statement in Beijing, where he is co-chairing a session of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, thanking Speaker Hastert for the May vote date. "Make no mistake about it: Passing PNTR [permanent normal trade relations] for China will not be easy, but I remain confident that our arguments will prevail." On a related issue, Barshefsky said that her office continued to work with trading partners toward a consensus for launching a broad new round of WTO trade negotiations. Since the failed December WTO ministerial meeting in Seattle, she said, her office has consulted with developed countries including Canada, Japan and the European Union (EU) and with key developing countries including India, Brazil and Egypt. Barshefsky could not predict whether enough support for a new round would arise soon, but she did say the EU was reconsidering its position in Seattle, where its rejection of a negotiated framework for agricultural negotiations brought the meeting to its inconclusive end. "Countries do not want to see a vacuum develop," Barshefsky said. In her testimony, Barshefsky asked Congress to increase spending for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) by 15 percent in the year starting October, the largest increase requested in 20 years. With a staff of 178 overwhelmed by a surging work load, she said, USTR needs to add 25 staff members -- 11 for conducting negotiations, 13 for monitoring compliance with trade agreements and one for providing security. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: usinfo.state.gov)
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