-Caveat Lector- U.S., China Can't Reach Trade Deal By MARTIN CRUTSINGER .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States and China failed to strike a final deal Thursday for clearing China's entry to the World Trade Organization but found accord on opening China's markets to some U.S. farm products and more airline flights. Both President Clinton and Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji voiced optimism that an agreement for China joining the WTO can be reached before the end of this year. Despite marathon negotiations over the past four days and a flurry of last-minute trade concessions from China, the administration decided it needed more than Chinese negotiators were willing to offer to sell the trade package to a hostile Congress. The failure to clinch a final agreement was a significant setback for Zhu, the first Chinese premier to visit America in 15 years. He had hoped to win U.S. backing for China's entry into WTO during his meetings with Clinton. ``We made significant progress toward bringing China into the World Trade Organization on fair commercial terms, but we are not there yet,'' Clinton told reporters at a joint news conference with Zhu. Clinton hailed separate deals for eliminating significant Chinese barriers to American agriculture products, including beef, pork, poultry, citrus and wheat grown in the Pacific Northwest. Other signed agreements included doubling the number of passenger and cargo flights between the two countries. And the administration got a commitment from China to crack down on piracy of computer programs by Chinese government agencies. The two countries also issued a joint statement listing trade concessions that China offered in hopes of winning America's support for WTO membership and pledged to continue working toward achieving that goal by November, when the WTO is scheduled to launch a new round of global trade talks in Seattle. The joint statement, however, also listed areas still in dispute, most notably an American demand that China still be subject to unilateral U.S. trade sanctions for a period of years after it enters the WTO. The administration was unwilling to relent on this point, fearing charges from opponents that it had given its enforcement rights for forcing China to comply with its commitments. One of the main benefits China would receive from WTO membership would be protection from new U.S. sanctions without first winning a trade case before an impartial WTO hearing panel. Other areas where China's market-opening offers were deemed insufficient were banking, especially the ability of U.S. firms to offer auto loans to Chinese consumers, sales of stocks and other securities and distribution rights for American-made movies. U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, briefing reporters on the talks, rejected a suggestion the administration may have given ammunition to Chinese critics of Zhu, who is viewed as a leading proponent of economic reforms. Zhu ``is anxious for very substantial reform of the Chinese economy and to move it more toward the direction of market economies ... This will help to solidify China as a place where companies will want to do business,'' Barshefsky said. China has been trying for 13 years to win entry in the WTO and the organization that preceded it, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. It needs approval from the United States and other major trading powers for membership in the Geneva-based organization that sets the rules for global trade. The Clinton administration has been unwilling to drop its objections until it is satisfied with China's commitment to lower its high tariffs and other trade barriers that the administration sees as a chief cause for America's soaring deficit with China. Last year that deficient reached $57 billion, the largest for any nation other than Japan. China's last-minute push for a deal in time for Zhu's visit also was coming at a time of rising U.S.-China tensions in other areas outside of economics, including allegations that China stole nuclear secrets from American laboratories. Under the agriculture agreement announced Thursday, China will lift a long-standing ban on shipments of wheat from the Pacific Northwest and citrus from Florida, Texas and California. It also agreed to eliminate burdensome inspection requirements on American beef, pork and poultry. Chuck Lambert, chief economist for the National Cattlemen's Association, said the accord should produce big gains for American meat producers. Other U.S. industries also supported the concessions U.S. negotiators won, although many companies who have longed hoped to expand their operations in China urged the administration to push forward for a final deal without delay. ``China has shown its willingness to open the door to its enormous market wider than ever, presenting Americans with unprecedented opportunities to trade with the world's most populous country,'' said Philip Condit, chairman of Boeing Co. and head of a trade task force of the Business Roundtable. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! 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