Clinton hopeful of China Bill passage

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, JUNE 24. The U. S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, has said that he expects the China vote in the Senate on the granting of Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) after the July 4 recess which means that the Chamber could vote on the Bill anytime after July 10. Mr. Clinton, who said that he hoped to get the Bill out of the way before July 4, maintained that he became very concerned when word came out that the delay in the Senate may run into September.

The President's confidence on the Senate vote stems from a White House meeting with a group of Senators from both the Republican and Democratic parties. And the Senate Majority Leader, Mr. Trent Lott, has announced that he will get the PNTR out of the way by the end of July even as he gave no firm dates. Mr. Lott hastened to add, ``It may not be as easily done as said''.

After a comfortable win in the House of Representatives, the outcome in the Senate is relatively easy in that it is expected to pass by at least 70 votes, or enough to override any filibuster attempt. But hardline Conservatives have promised to give the Bill a fight in the Senate floor and the question to what extent the latest furore over Los Alamos is going to add to the troubles of the administration.

The problem is not Los Alamos as much as it has to do with proposals being planned by senior Republicans to have attachments to the Bill. The trouble here is that if the Senate comes up with something different from what has been passed by the House, it heads to a Conference Committee and a fresh vote, which is back to square one in the House of Representatives.

The proposals planned in the Senate include one by Mr. Fred Thompson who has called for some very severe penalties against companies and groups in China that violate non- proliferation treaties or export control laws of the United States. Mr. Lott is the co-sponsor of this anti-proliferation proposal; and the White House has started negotiations in the hope of thrashing out differences.

The China PNTR is a centre piece of the Clinton administration's foreign policy and will be one of the last ``achievements'' of the President when he lays down office by the beginning of next year. China has agreed that in return for the PNTR it would open up several markets including telecommunications to American corporations. When the Senate finally passes the PNTR, it would bring to an end the annual ritual of renewing the Most Favoured Nation status, an exercise that is more of a political circus in this city giving a field day to the anti-China bashers on Capitol Hill.

The recent security breach at Los Alamos may figure in the Senate debate but is unlikely to be the major rallying point for the anti-China law makers. The inquiry by the Federal Bureau of Investigation has not yet opened up an espionage front and it is maintained that the hard disks did not leave the lab premises.

In spite of all the grilling on Capitol Hill, the Energy Secretary, Mr. Bill Richardson, continues to enjoy the support of the Mr. Clinton. ``I do have confidence in him'', remarked the President. But the security breach at Los Alamos appears to have finished off Mr. Richardson's shot as the Vice- Presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket. The stinging attacks on him by Republican and Democratic law-makers has more or less closed this chapter for now.

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Section  : International
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