UPDATE 1-China trade bill assured U.S. Senate passage
by Staff Reporters
(Adds expected Senate announcement on human rights commission in para 13)
By Adam Entous
WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) - A landmark China trade bill is headed for final passage in the U.S. Senate, according to a Reuters poll showing President Bill Clinton with enough votes to overcome last-ditch hurdles thrown up by opponents.
Sixty-three lawmakers in the 100-member Senate said in the poll they would vote in favor of legislation granting permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to China.
That would be enough to override a vote-blocking filibuster and ensure passage of the bill, which would end the annual ritual of reviewing China's trade status and permanently guarantee Chinese goods the same low-tariff access to U.S. markets as products from nearly every other nation.
China would, in turn, open a wide range of markets from agriculture to telecommunications to U.S. businesses under the terms of a landmark trade agreement signed in November 1999 ushering Beijing into the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The only question was when the Senate would vote, and whether opponents could bog down the process with last-minute amendments.
PNTR won U.S. House of Representatives approval last week despite dire warnings by organized labor that closer trade ties could undermine human rights in China and cost hundreds of thousands of American workers their jobs.
Unlike the House, where two-out-of-three Democrats voted against PNTR, the trade bill enjoys broad bipartisan support in the Senate. Twenty-seven Senate Democrats and 36 Republicans told Reuters they would vote in favor of PNTR. One senator -- North Dakota Democrat Byron Dorgan -- said he was likely to support the trade bill.
Ten senators -- including South Carolina Democrat Ernest Hollings and North Carolina Republican Jesse Helms -- oppose the trade bill, and two more said they were leaning against the measure: Colorado Republican Ben Nighthorse Campbell and Arkansas Republican Tim Hutchinson.
"Human rights have deteriorated -- not improved ... and the regime continues to act recklessly in other areas vital to U.S. national interest," said another PNTR opponent, Sen. Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat.
Supporters countered the bill would open China's vast marketplace, potentially the world's largest with 1.3 billion consumers, and increase stability in the region as Beijing joins the Geneva-based WTO, which sets global trading rules.
"The benefits far outweigh the risks," said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, a New Mexico Republican who was initially on the fence about PNTR because of concerns about Taiwan's security.
In the Reuters poll, 23 senators were undecided and one lawmaker declined to comment.
Trade sources said Senate leaders have tentatively accepted the House bill, which would grant PNTR to Beijing, set up a commission to monitor Chinese human rights and strengthen safeguards against import surges. Senate leaders were expected to formally endorse the House provisions next week.
A Senate vote on PNTR was still expected in June, but aides said that could slip to July while lawmakers debate critical spending bills.
Opponents said they could also delay PNTR by offering amendments calling for a crackdown on Chinese weapon sales and a boost in U.S. military ties with Taiwan. The White House and Republican leaders hope to head off Senate amendments, which if adopted, could force a second vote on PNTR in the House.
"Ultimately, I don't see any obstacles to its passage," said John Czwartacki, Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott's spokesman. "It's not a matter of if. It's a matter of when." |
