"....from the Jus' so's ya know Department...."
US Senate kicks off final battle over China trade
By Adam Entous
WASHINGTON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - After months of delay, the U.S. Senate opens debate this week on President Bill Clinton's landmark trade pact with China, setting the stage for a final showdown between free-trade supporters and their foes that could transform Sino-U.S. relations.
Clinton's allies in the fight said they had more than enough votes to ensure Senate passage of the trade bill, which would end the annual ritual review of Beijing's trade status and guarantee Chinese goods the same low-tariff access to the U.S. market as products from nearly every other nation.
But opponents of the market-opening pact said they still had a chance to scuttle the measure during the Senate debate by bogging it down with amendments.
Under congressional rules, if any amendment is approved, congressional leaders would be forced to negotiate a final compromise and schedule a new round of votes on the trade bill in the Senate as well as in the bitterly divided House. It is unlikely those votes could be completed this year since the congressional session will be cut short by the November election, congressional aides and White House officials say.
"If anything is attached to this bill, it is tantamount to saying a permanent trade deal with China is dead for this year," said Michael Siegel, spokesman for Montana Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, a leading supporter of the pact.
To ensure approval, Republican aides said Vice President Al Gore could even be forced to interrupt his Democratic presidential campaign to cast tie-breaking votes against amendments he would otherwise support, including measures calling on China to improve human rights and labor standards.
A final Senate vote on the legislation, which would grant so-called permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status to China, is expected by Sept. 15. It has already won U.S. House approval.
President Bill Clinton has made passage of the China trade bill his top legislative priority for his final year in office, arguing that it would benefit the U.S. economy and bolster national security by encouraging China to reform its economy and eventually its political system.
In exchange for the trade benefits, China has agreed to open a wide range of markets, from agriculture to telecommunications, to U.S. businesses under the terms of an agreement setting the stage for Beijing to join the Geneva-based World Trade Organization later this year.
The trade bill won House approval in May, but only after a bitter fight that pitted organized labor against big business over access to the vast Chinese marketplace, potentially the world's largest with 1.3 billion consumers.
Two out of three House Democrats voted against the measure, warning that increased trade with China could lead to massive U.S. job losses and exacerbate an already huge U.S. trade deficit with China, which hit a record $68 billion last year.
In contrast to the House, the trade bill enjoys broad bipartisan support in the Senate. Sixty-five lawmakers in the 100-member chamber said in a Reuters poll that they would vote in favor of permanent normal trade relations, enough to override a vote-blocking filibuster.
Despite this overwhelming support, Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi initially refused to schedule a vote on the China bill, saying lawmakers should first complete work on legislation required to fund the federal government.
Under pressure from pro-trade business groups, Lott eventually backed down and an overwhelming majority of senators voted in late July to start debate on the China bill when the Senate reconvenes on Tuesday, after its summer recess. "There is now a light at the end of the tunnel," Baucus said.
But major hurdles remain.
Before approving the trade bill, Lott wants the Senate to vote on legislation by Tennessee Republican Sen. Fred Thompson that could lead to sanctions against China for alleged weapons sales to Pakistan and other countries. If Democrats refuse, Thompson has threatened to propose it as an amendment to PNTR, over objections from Beijing and the White House.
Other possible amendments call for the United States to boost military ties with Taiwan. Minnesota Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone will offer at least five amendments calling on China to protect religious freedom, improve human rights, eliminate prison labor and allow Chinese workers to form unions. For many Democrats eager to shore up union support ahead of the November election, Wellstone's proposals will be hard to turn down.
"We are going to have a debate, Mr. Clinton. And, we are going to have votes -- perhaps uncomfortable votes -- on a range of issues related to China," Sen. Jesse Helms, a North Carolina Republican, told Clinton after the House vote.
Despite these potential obstacles, leaders in the Senate were confident the trade bill would win Senate backing later this month. "There's no doubt in my mind. At the end of the day, PNTR will pass and will get to the president's desk," said John Czwartacki, Lott's spokesman.
"We're optimistic," added Robert Kapp, president of the U.S.-China Business Council.
12:56 09-04-00 |
