05 June 2000
Text: Barshefsky Calls For Early Senate Vote on PNTR
(Debate could start June 12, with vote at week's end) (1730) Clinton Administration officials are urging the Senate to consider legislation granting Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) as soon as the week of June 12, with a vote possible by the end of that week, says U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky. Addressing the U.S.-China Business Council in Washington, DC, June 1, Barshefsky warned, "The more we delay, the more we place the achievements to date at risk. "Our hope is that the Senate will act quickly, beginning the debate in earnest by the week of June 12th, and, if possible, bringing the bill to a vote by the end of that week," Barshefsky said. According to Barshefsky, indications are positive for PNTR; nonetheless, the Clinton Administration would not be letting up in its effort to secure Senate passage of the bill that would end the annual review of China's trade status with the United States. "We have a good sign in the Finance Committee's 19-1 vote for PNTR two weeks ago, and indications of broad support in the Senate as a whole," Barshefsky told the Council, which supports increased trade and investment with China. However, she added, "we are taking nothing for granted. We will be meeting and speaking with the leadership and individual Senators over the coming days on PNTR and on the importance of the Levin-Bereuter Commission proposal." That proposal was part of the legislation adopted by the House of Representatives when it passed PNTR for China May 24 in a 237 to 197 vote. Representatives Sander Levin (Democrat of Michigan) and Douglas Bereuter (Republican of Nebraska) crafted legislation that would, among other things, set up a commission that would monitor human rights conditions in China and report its findings to Congress. Currently the Senate has before it S 2277, the one-page bill voted out by the Senate Finance Committee, and H.R. 4444, the 65-page bill passed by the House of Representatives. Barshefsky praised the council for its work on China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and PNTR. "You have been part of a project of great historic importance," she said. Following is the text: (begin text) Remarks at US-China Business Council Dinner Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky U.S. Trade Representative U.S.-China Business Council Washington, DC June 1, 2000 Thank you very much, Michael, and let me express my deep gratitude to the Council for this recognition. I would like to recognize Ambassador Li and Ambassador Prueher; and let me also recognize and applaud the hard work that Bob Kapp, the Council staff and so many of you here tonight have devoted to the WTO negotiations with China and to the debate of the past weeks on permanent Normal Trade Relations. In accepting this award, I am grateful not only for myself. In honoring me, you also recognize the hard work and exceptional performance of an outstanding group of public servants from the office of the USTR - our China negotiating team, our Congressional and public affairs offices. Their dedication and perseverance enabled us first to conclude our historic agreement on China's WTO accession, and then make the case for it over the past six months to Congress and the American public. You have a busy program this evening, and I won't take much time. But let me make a few points about the significance of the work we have done thus far, and then offer some thoughts on what lies ahead. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TRADING SYSTEM As China enters the World Trade Organization, it is joining a system now more than half a century old. Its purpose, as Franklin Roosevelt said in calling for the negotiations which led to foundation of the GATT system in 1948, was two-fold: -- To create shared opportunities for job creation and growth, based upon clear economic benefits of open markets at home and abroad; and still more important, -- To give nations a greater stake in one another's stability and prosperity, as Roosevelt put it, to "lay the economic basis for the secure and peaceful world we all desire." This is the vision at the heart of today's WTO; and this is its record in practice. Through ten Administrations, Americans have built a world economy is more open, more free, and more respectful of the rule of law. Through eight negotiating Rounds, and as 113 economies joined the 23 GATT founders, we have seen trade expand fifteen-fold; the world economy grow six-fold; and per capita income nearly triple. The result has been an unprecedented era of social progress: since the 1950s, world life expectancy has grown by twenty years; infant mortality dropped by two-thirds; and famine receded from all but the most remote, war-torn or misgoverned corners of the world. This work, though largely slow and incremental, has also been punctuated by a few events of singular importance: the original GATT Agreement, with its rejection of the closed Depression-era trade policies; the reintegration of Germany and Japan after the Second World War; the opportunity for nations emerging from colonial rule to find their place in the world in the 1960s and 1970s; the broadening and modernization of the trading system through the creation of the WTO in 1995. CHINA'S WTO ACCESSION AND PNTR As we open this new century, we are about to see the return of China -- a founding member of the GATT, and then for decades a challenger to the vision it represented. This is an event as significant as any of the great landmarks in the history of the trading system. -- For China, it is a defining moment in the nation's modern history. Taken line by line, WTO accession, under the terms of our bilateral agreement, will spark the liberalization and reform of hundreds of different industries; the advance of the rule of law throughout the Chinese economy; new job opportunities and a higher standard of living for the Chinese. Taken as a whole, it marks the most important step toward reform in twenty years; and an opening to the world unprecedented in modern times. -- For China's Asian neighbors, it is of no lesser importance. In economic terms, the opening of China's markets will mean new opportunities for businesses and farmers throughout Southeast Asia, Korea, Japan, Russia and Central Asia, enabling China to play its natural role as a source of growth and prosperity for the region - a development of great importance at any time, but especially welcome in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Equally or more important, China's growing integration into the Pacific and world economies will be a contribution to the region's long-term political stability. -- For the United States, China's WTO entry -- together with Congressional approval of permanent Normal Trade Relations -- is of course an economic opportunity. But these are also events whose implications go well beyond tariffs and export statistics. They, first of all, offer a hopeful signal on fundamental questions of world peace and security. All of us this evening understand that stable and mutually beneficial ties between the United States and China can be among the Pacific's principal guarantees of peace and prosperity; we are equally aware of the dangers that would arise from tension and suspicion. In our WTO negotiations, and in the House's action on PNTR last week, our relationship has shown maturity and statesmanship on both sides of the Pacific: we have been able to resolve issues on which we have often disagreed; and also to recognize and act upon important areas of mutual interest and shared benefit. None of us this evening can foresee the future, and many elements beyond economics will play a part in the development of this relationship in the coming years -- but the conclusion of our agreement and the House's approval of PNTR are very good signs. And as we think about trade policy more generally, the WTO accession and PNTR are an equally clear and positive signal. The House's bipartisan vote for PNTR comes shortly after the Congress's overwhelming approval of the Africa and CBI legislation last month, and the similar result we expect when Congress takes up the five-year review of the World Trade Organization later in June. Together, these are a very strong endorsement of America's continuing support for and leadership in a policy of open markets and free trade. With this we open the new century on a note of optimism and confidence in America's leadership in building a more open, more free and more decent world economy for the generations to come. NEXT STEPS We can, therefore, be very pleased with the point we have reached today. But this does not mean that we have time to rest. First, the Senate has yet to open its debate. We have a good sign in the Finance Committee's 19-1 vote for PNTR two weeks ago, and indications of broad support in the Senate as a whole; but we are taking nothing for granted. We will be meeting and speaking with the leadership and individual Senators over the coming days on PNTR and on the importance of the Levin-Bereuter Commission proposal. Our hope is that the Senate will act quickly, beginning the debate in earnest by the week of June 12th, and if possible bringing the bill to a vote by the end of that week. The more we delay, the more we place the achievements to date at risk. CONCLUSION In conclusion, in your work on China's WTO accession and PNTR, you have been part of a project of great historic importance. As China enters the WTO, we are taking up the task Roosevelt began in 1945: the patient creation of the architecture of prosperity; and the establishment of the economic foundation of a peaceful and secure world for this new century. Our success to this point is a sign which should offer great hope to Americans, to Chinese, and to the world. You can be very proud of the time and effort you have given over the past months; and I trust that you will be with us at the successful of the work. Once again, I thank you very much for this moment of recognition. (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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