11 May 2000
Text: Rep. Cox May 10 Testimony on China PNTR to House Committee
(Cox says U.S. should keep part of Jackson-Vanik amendment) (1350) Congress should repeal the parts of the Jackson-Vanik amendment that deal specifically with trade, Representative Christopher Cox (Republican of California) said May 10 in testimony before the House Committee on International Relations. Cox, chairman of the House Policy Committee and the bipartisan Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China, told fellow lawmakers that protection of human rights "is an essential element of U.S. foreign policy" no matter how one feels about granting China permanent Normal Trade Relations status. Cox cautioned against the Clinton Administration's proposal that the House of Representatives and the Senate vote to end the application of Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 to China, also known as the Jackson-Vanik amendment. "For the last twenty-five years, the Jackson-Vanik amendment has been an effective tool for promoting human rights abroad by requiring that non-market economies meet minimal human right standards in order to trade with the United States," he said. Congress, Cox said, "must correct the administration's oversight in repealing the entirety of Jackson-Vanik, and instead take care to remove only those portions that are related to trade." He suggested a "Jackson-Vanik II" that would require a semi-annual report by the President on "the human rights practices of the world's remaining non-market economies." Jackson-Vanik II, he said, would enumerate "20 broad rights drawn from the Universal Declaration on Human Rights that covers the full range of challenges facing oppressed peoples today." If a country were to be found to be in violation of Jackson-Vanik II, Cox said, access to U.S. credit facilities like the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the Export-Import Bank could be denied to companies desiring to do business with that country. This is the case with the current Jackson-Vanik amendment, he explained. As in the current Jackson-Vanik amendment, Jackson-Vanik II would also enable a president to waive a finding of ineligibility and allow Congress to overrule that waiver, Cox said. Following is the text of Cox's prepared testimony: (begin text) Rep. Christopher Cox Prepared Statement for the House Committee on International Relations May 10, 2000 Thank you Chairman Gilman and Members of the committee for giving me the opportunity to testify today on the repeal of Jackson-Vanik for the People's Republic of China. No matter where you stand on granting permanent normal trade relations to the PRC, one thing on which we can all agree is that the protection of human rights is an essential element of U.S. foreign policy. For the last twenty-five years, the Jackson-Vanik amendment has been an effective tool for promoting human rights abroad by requiring that non-market economies meet minimal human rights standards in order to trade with the United States. I'm here today because the Clinton-Gore administration's legislation throws out the human rights baby with the trade sanctions bath water. The administration's legislation, which contains only one substantive paragraph, repeals Jackson-Vanik in its entirety for the PRC, far exceeding the U.S. commitment to the Communist Chinese government to establish normal trade relations. The administration's legislation removes our primary mechanism for reviewing human rights in non-market economics. When I traveled to Moscow several weeks ago, I met one-on-one for two hours with the Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov. During his opening remarks -- before I even said one word -- Ivanov pointedly stated that President Clinton's proposal would exempt the world's largest Communist country from human rights review, while leaving under scrutiny a dozen countries that are making the transition to democracy and free markets. He raises a valid point. Congress must correct the administration's oversight in repealing the entirety of Jackson-Vanik and instead take care to remove only those portions that are related to trade. I would propose that Jackson-Vanik II does just that. It affirms our commitment to human rights while decoupling the review from trade sanctions that might violate WTO rules. I'll briefly summarize the major provisions of Jackson-Vanik II, which updates Jackson-Vanik to reflect today's challenges to human rights. The centerpiece of Jackson-Vanik II is a semi-annual report by the President on the human rights practices of the world's remaining non-market economies. It is little known that the only human right that is specifically covered by Jackson-Vanik is the right to emigrate. Jackson-Vanik II enumerates 20 broad rights drawn from the Universal Declaration on Human Rights that cover the full range of challenges facing oppressed peoples today. In effect Jackson-Vanik II codifies what has been the practice of Jackson-Vanik these past 25 years. I think it is important to pause here to note that Jackson-Vanik II keeps the responsibility for monitoring human rights in the hands our foreign policy makers where such responsibility belongs. We shouldn't downgrade the importance of human rights by delegating responsibility for them to another un-elected bureaucracy. If we persist in treating human rights as an appendage to our foreign policy and not an integral part, we frustrate our common goals of peace, freedom, and prosperity around the globe. Once the President reports to Congress, Congress is then given the opportunity to agree or to disagree with the President's assessment, based in large part on the knowledge and expertise held by the Members of this Committee. Unless the Congress and the President agree that a country does not violate such fundamental human rights as freedom of religion and freedom of speech, then that country becomes ineligible for U.S. subsidies and export credits, as under current law. It's often overlooked, but Jackson-Vanik currently pertains not only to trade but also to access to U.S. credit facilities like OPIC and the Ex-Im Bank. The President is authorized to waive that ineligibility and just as under Jackson-Vanik Congress is given the opportunity to overrule that waiver. By maintaining presidential involvement in Jackson-Vanik II, we reaffirm our government's commitment to human rights and by increasing the frequency of Congressional review we strengthen the hands of those who like Wei Jingsheng, who has joined me today at the witness table, struggle every day to promote freedom around the World. And never before has there been a greater need for this legislation. From the 1998 imprisonment of three leaders of the China Democracy Party, to the persecution of the Uighurs in Xinjiang, to the long-standing repression of Tibet, recent years have seen the most ruthless suppression of dissent in China since the crackdown on the 1989 Democracy Movement. Perhaps nothing has been more emblematic of the deterioration of human rights in China than the crackdown on what's popularly known as the Falun Gong movement. Since their peaceful mass demonstration in Beijing last spring, Falun Gong has been banned by the Communist Chinese government and its adherents have been subjected to arrest and indefinite detention. Li Chang, one organizer of the movement and formerly an official in the Public Security ministry, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for doing nothing more than having the temerity to have faith. I'll conclude with just one example of the lengths to which the PRC government goes to stamp out freedom. On February 21, 2000, a 57-year-old mother died in government custody of a heart attack after having endured two days of what the PRC government described as a "helpful education." Chen Zixiu suffered repeated shocks from a cattle prod and barefoot marches through the snow in her last days. What crime had she committed? She refused to renounce her beliefs. I am confident that this Congress will refuse to renounce its belief that human rights are a part of the American character and of any conception of American foreign policy, Republican or Democrat. Whatever differences we may have on trade, surely we can all agree on the importance of these basic human rights. Jackson-Vanik II is the reaffirmation of our beliefs. Thank you Mr. Chairman. (end text) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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