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To: Zardoz who wrote (50246)	3/10/2000 3:13:00 PM
From: long-gone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116752

News of the Day Our selection of consumer, business and financial news that matters to you, your money and your career. by Scott Bernard Nelson Last Updated: May 9, 6 pm EDT Government's oil sale may have unintended consequences An Energy Department official this week claimed President Clinton's April 29 announcement that the government would sell $227 million in oil from its reserves was a bipartisan effort to reduce the deficit. A week ago, the administration was playing it up as an election-year effort by Clinton to curb the recent runup in gasoline prices. Either way, say many economists, the sale may have inadvertently and permanently thrown the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) into the political arena. Congress created the SPR in 1975 so that foreign oil-producing nations wouldn't be able to use their oil shipments to the U.S. as leverage in international disputes. At the outset of Operation Desert Storm in 1991, for example, some oil was released from the SPR to offset the loss of Iraqi oil from the international market. In two decades, though, it was never used to balance the budget or to manipulate gasoline prices. Therein lies the danger of the government's recent sale, say economists. "What this has done is open the door for politicians to decide when the gasoline price is inappropriate, which they're not elected or appointed for and which they're generally not trained for," says Bernard Munk, management professor at the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania and former chairman of Penndel Energy Corp. "Now that the precedent has been set, it will be easy for future politicians to do the same thing ? especially if they're jockeying for position in an election year." The only way out, says Munk, is for government to determine whether or not the SPR is still needed in the post-Cold War era and, if so, in what format. Anything, he says, is preferable to allowing the reserves to become a political pawn that artificially manipulates the market. But such a debate is not likely to happen this year, he concedes. "Unfortunately, political campaigns are not good times to raise complicated, long-term issues." wwa.kiplinger.com how quickly they forget...

To: Zardoz who wrote (50246)	3/10/2000 11:26:00 PM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 116752

March 10, 2000 China will retaliate if trade status fails By Carter Dougherty THE WASHINGTON TIMES Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao Thursday signaled in Beijing that American firms will be hit hard if Congress does not extend unconditional and permanent normal trade relations (NTR) to China. "If this issue cannot be thoroughly resolved, it will be detrimental to the interest of U.S. enterprises in China," Mr. Zhu said. The threats directed at American businesses highlighted the unusual political dynamic in the debate over NTR. The Chinese government has made little effort to be heard in Washington. Instead, the American business community, along with the Clinton administration, is doing the heavy lifting. Given the prize at stake ?access to a market of 1.2 billion people ? business needs little prodding, but the Chinese government does let U.S. companies know their lobbying services are appreciated. President Clinton formally kicked off the administration's campaign to secure permanent NTR for China in a major policy address on Tuesday. The White House wants Congress to abolish the annual review of China's NTR status, a move that would allow the United States to support Chinese membership in the World Trade Organization under the terms of a November agreement. By most estimates, U.S. companies are plowing $10 million into the campaign, and just this week, the Business Roundtable, the leading industry group on trade policy, announced a $1.5 million advertising campaign in support of NTR. "The bulk of the effort [to secure NTR] has always been undertaken by the companies that do business in China," said Nicholas Lardy, a specialist on China at the Brook-ings Institution. The Chinese have shown little appreciation for the role that Congress plays in formulating U.S. foreign policy, Mr. Lardy said. The congressional relations department in the Chinese Embassy has typically been "short on staff and talent," he said.(cont) 208.246.212.80