-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a prelude to war! Clinton Wants Quick Vote on China Trade Bill Reuters Photo By Adam Entous WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Clinton sent legislation to Congress on Wednesday that would grant China permanent trading privileges in the U.S. market, setting the stage for the biggest trade battle since the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement. Clinton asked lawmakers to approve the bill ``as soon as possible,'' to ensure U.S. companies benefit from a landmark trade agreement that would open China's vast marketplace, potentially the world's largest with 1.3 billion consumers. Most senators support the initiative, but it faces stiff opposition in the House of Representatives from labor unions and their Democratic allies. Clinton aides are pressing for passage by June, fearing further delay could bog the legislation down in politics before the November U.S. elections. ``This is the right thing to do. It's a historic opportunity and a profound American responsibility,'' Clinton said in a speech at Johns Hopkins University. ``I'll do all I can to convince Congress and the American people to support it.'' The trade agreement calls for China to open a wide range of markets from agriculture to telecommunications. The deal, worked out in 1999, is a crucial piece of China's application to join the World Trade Organization, though Beijing must still wrap up talks with the European Union and other WTO members to enter the Geneva-based body, which sets global trading rules. Permanent Favored Status In exchange for market opening by China, Clinton says the Republican-led Congress must grant the country permanent normal trade relations, a status Beijing now gets only after an annual congressional review. Permanent-NTR legislation, as proposed by Clinton, would guarantee Chinese goods the same low-tariff access to U.S. markets as products from nearly every other nation. To boost congressional support for a swift vote, the White House included a provision in the bill assuring lawmakers that U.S. business will benefit from Chinese market-opening commitments negotiated by the EU and others. The White House is pressing for a swift vote in the Senate, hoping to score an early victory that would put pressure on a bitterly divided House of Representatives. ``This is a tough fight, and we know it; and we're not taking anything for granted,'' Commerce Secretary William Daley told Reuters after briefing Senate Democrats on the pact. Clinton's allies -- a coalition led by the Business Roundtable and the Chamber of Commerce -- have earmarked more than $12 million to round up free-trade votes on Capitol Hill in their biggest lobbying campaign since NAFTA was passed in 1993. That pact, which lowered trade barriers among the United States, Mexico and Canada, was approved after a bitter congressional fight. Focus On Senate Senate leaders said the Finance Committee would hold the first vote on China's trade status, and passage was virtually assured. Fifteen senators on the 20-member committee told Reuters in a survey they would support permanent NTR. In the 100-member Senate, the vote may be closer, but Republican Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi and Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota said they expected at least 60 senators to support the White House, enough to override a filibuster. Two senators, Paul Wellstone of Minnesota and Ernest Hollings of South Carolina, sent Clinton a letter of protest. ''People in the country have real worries that this deal may hurt them more than it will help,'' they wrote. It remained to be seen whether the agreement would garner a 218-vote majority in the 435-member House, though Republican leaders and administration officials were optimistic. House Republican Majority Leader Dick Armey said he expected the House to approve permanent NTR in June, later than the administration had hoped, and he urged Clinton to lobby Democrats. ``It's going to be tough to get the votes,'' the Texas Republican conceded. According to House Democratic Whip David Bonior of Michigan, two out of three Democrats will oppose the pact. Labor unions, traditionally allied with Clinton's Democratic Party, have singled out the trade agreement for attack, demanding that Beijing improve human rights and labor standards before joining the WTO. They have put House Democrats on notice that they will pay at the polls in November if they support it. **COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soap-boxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
