U.S. Senate votes China Trade Bill

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, SEPT. 20. The U.S. Senate has voted decisively in favour of the China Trade Bill with 83 law-makers going along with the legislation and only 15 voting against it. The President, Mr. Bill Clinton, who has been lobbying for the Bill at every available opportunity, has said this will promote prosperity in the U.S. and freedom in China.

The Congressional granting of the Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) means that the annual ritual of extending the Most Favoured Nation status is no longer on the cards. Conservatives on Capitol Hill have been using these occasions to lash out at Beijing on a range of issues, notably human rights, democracy, Taiwan and Tibet. The stage is now set for China's entry into the World Trade Organisation.

``In return for normal trade relations, China will open its markets to American products from wheat to cars to consulting services and we will be far more able to sell goods in China without moving our factories there,'' Mr. Clinton said. One estimate is that American exports to China could be boosted by about US$ 13 billions in five years, with farm exports alone showing a rise of US$ 2 billions yearly. This would cut down China's trade surplus with the U.S., nearly US$ 68 billions.

The Clinton Administration, led by the President, has been making the point that the PNTR and WTO membership would have a profound effect on the people of China. ``Outside competition will speed the demise of China's huge state industries and spur the enterprise of the private sector involvement. They will diminish the role of government in people's daily lives,'' the President said. The legislation now goes to the White House for Mr. Clinton's signature.

But the provision for a Congressional-Executive Commission to monitor human rights in China has attracted criticism from it; and at another level the Bill calls for a mechanism to help American industries that are being hurt by Chinese imports. Beijing has said that the legislation contains ``certain clauses that are irrelevant to trade and are intended for interfering in the internal affairs of China and harming China's interests''.

The PNTR was strongly supported by the big business which saw newer opportunities in a mega market that was going to be more tightly governed by a rules based system. But labour and human rights groups have been opposing the PNTR and questioned the linkage between the passage of the bill and the improvement in Beijing's track record on human rights and governance. In specific terms, labour leaders have said that it would have an adverse impact on the U.S. where upto 150,000 textile related jobs could be at stake.

Human rights and democracy were not the only issues that were of concern to law makers. China's proliferation of nuclear technology, missile and missile technology to such countries as Pakistan and Iran became a matter of serious concern and debate on Capitol Hill. The argument of those who favoured slapping Beijing with punitive measures basically stemmed from a perception that Beijing has not lived up to international agreements or bilateral commitments.

It was not the die-hard conservative Republicans alone who were opposing the PNTR in the Senate and had sought to complicate matters by insisting on a raft of Amendments. ``The signal we send by granting PNTR now is a signal of abject weakness. It is a signal of greed. It is a signal of ambivalence on the issue of non-proliferation,'' said the Democratic Senator, Mr. Robert Byrd.

Rights Watch slams Bill

WASHINGTON, SEPT. 20. Human Rights Watch has expressed disappointment over the U.S. Senate vote without any human rights conditions attached.

``Congress and the administration should have used the PNTR leverage to get some human rights improvements first, before giving up the annual review process,'' said Mr. Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington director for Asia at Human Rights Watch.

``The timing of the PNTR vote is particularly unfortunate, just as human rights conditions are worsening. Beijing is closing down all channels of political dissent including on the Internet - even while it's opening up its economy.''

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Next     : French journalists flee captors