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To: Ruffian who wrote (70228)	4/4/2000 9:20:00 PM
From: Jenne	Respond to of 152472

Tuesday April 4, 8:55 pm Eastern Time UPDATE 1-Business wants U.S. Congress to back China deal (Updates with White House meeting, LaFalce reaction) By Adam Entous WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) - Hoping to round up votes for a landmark trade agreement with China, U.S. business leaders bused more than 500 workers to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to go door to door lobbying lawmakers to support the pact. Organized by the Business Coalition for U.S.-China Trade, the workers visited dozens of lawmakers in their offices as part of corporate America's biggest lobbying campaign since the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement. The White House also stepped up pressure on Congress to support the agreement, which would open China's vast marketplace, potentially the world's largest with 1.3 billion consumers. President Bill Clinton and key members of his cabinet met on Tuesday night with roughly a dozen wavering Democrats. Labor union leaders dismissed Tuesday's lobbying effort. Teamsters President James Hoffa called the Business Coalition's rally a ``show of weakness.' The Teamsters and the AFL-CIO labor federation have promised to flood the Capitol on April 12 with more than 10,000 activists who oppose the pact. A vote is slated for late May. The date is expected to be announced on Wednesday by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican. KEY TO WTO APPLICATION The trade agreement, a crucial piece of China's application to join the World Trade Organization, calls for China to open a wide range of markets, from agriculture to telecommunications. In exchange for the market opening, Congress must grant China permanent normal trade relations, Clinton says. Beijing now gets normal trade relations only after an annual congressional review. A bill granting China permanent NTR status is virtually assured passage in the Senate but faces stiff opposition in the House of Representatives from Democrats closely allied with organized labor. They have demanded that China improve human rights and labor standards before joining the Geneva-based WTO. After meeting with Clinton at the White House, several Democrats said they remained undecided. ``I don't know that any commitments were made, one way or the other,' said Rep. John LaFalce of New York. He urged the business community to accept that ``labor rights should be a discussion item in future negotiations.' Nevertheless, administration officials and their allies in the business community said they were increasingly confident the House would approve permanent NTR, which would guarantee Chinese goods the same low-tariff access to U.S. markets as products from nearly every other nation. ``We have been gaining support on Capitol Hill,' Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky told reporters after addressing hundreds of workers taking part in the rally. The workers, brought in from across the country, represented small companies as well as corporate giants like Boeing (NYSE:BA - news) and America Online (NYSE:AOL - news). ``It will help create jobs,' said Ken Webb, an employee with AMR Corp's (NYSE:AMR - news).American Airlines in Chicago. ``It will also help convince China to improve its human rights record.' ``It's going to benefit our plant,' added Amy Gillespie, a Boeing employee from Macon, Georgia. ``It will bring work to Macon,' she added. In a victory for the administration, Hastert was expected to schedule the vote on permanent NTR for May, but put the onus on Clinton to deliver 90 to 100 Democratic votes to ensure passage. Hoping to work out a compromise with Democrats, senior White House officials planned to hold further talks this week with Rep. Sander Levin, the ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means subcommittee on trade. Levin has proposed setting up a special commission to review China's human rights record. If Beijing failed to live up to international norms on trade or human rights, Congress could retaliate with sanctions through the U.S. Export-Import Bank, the World Bank and other lending agencies. House Republican Leader Dick Armey said the leadership might consider Levin's proposal. ``If it does, in fact, turn out to be a really tight vote ... then willingness to look at other things that help people along will always be there,' he said. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said he expected the Senate to vote on permanent NTR in the first week of June. Lott, a Mississippi Republican, said he had already spoken with Clinton about the timing.