U.S. House to vote in May on China trade deal

By Adam Entous
Reuters

April 3, 2000
Web posted at: 5:49 p.m. EDT (2149 GMT)

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - The House of Representatives will vote in May on legislation granting permanent trade benefits to China, Republican leaders announced Monday after White House officials and their congressional allies warned that foot-dragging could doom the trade pact.

House Majority Leader Dick Armey said the vote would be held before May 29, when Congress leaves for its weeklong Memorial Day recess, though he did not specify a date.

"I want it done as quickly as possible, by the end of May at the very latest," said Armey, a Texas Republican.

But he told reporters the onus was on President Clinton to round up enough Democratic votes for passage to ensure that 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.

The Senate is also expected to vote in May on the legislation, which would provide China with permanent normal trade relations (NTR) status in the United States. Passage in the Senate is virtually assured, unlike in the House, where lawmakers are bitterly divided.

BARSHEFSKY EXPRESSES SATISFACTION

The Clinton administration welcomed Armey's announcement. "We are pleased that Mr. Armey has now confirmed what he and others had previously hinted, which is that a vote will be scheduled for May," U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky told reporters.

The Clinton administration and its allies have been pressing the House Republican leadership for weeks to set a deadline for the vote, arguing it would put pressure on wavering Democrats to support the market-opening pact.

If a vote is not held before the end of May, they warned, the trade agreement could become bogged down in election politics and might have to be set aside until next year.

Previously, Republican leaders had insisted that they would only schedule a vote once Clinton and Vice President Al Gore had rounded up 90 to 100 Democratic votes to ensure House passage.

Under pressure from business leaders eager to tap into the Chinese market, top Republicans backed down but said they still expected Clinton to deliver the Democratic votes. "We'll all have to redouble our efforts," Armey said. "Can we afford a little (Democratic) slippage? Yes, but not much."

With the May deadline set, Clinton moved into high gear, lining up support among political and business leaders.

During an appearance in California's Silicon Valley, the president unveiled letters signed by 39 governors and nearly 200 technology industry leaders calling for approval of permanent NTR for China.

ON PAR WITH OTHER COUNTRIES

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, also announced her support for the legislation, which would guarantee Chinese goods the same low-tariff access to U.S. markets as products from nearly every other nation.

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 that, Clinton says the Republican-led Congress must grant China permanent NTR. Beijing now gets normal trade relations only after an annual congressional review.

But it remains to be seen whether Clinton and his congressional allies can overcome stiff opposition in the House from Democrats closely tied to organized labor.

Union leaders have demanded that China improve its respect for human rights and raise labor standards before it joins the WTO and have warned wavering Democrats that they will pay at the polls in November if they support permanent normal trade relations.

According to Democratic Rep. David Bonior of Michigan, the chief vote-counter for forces opposing the pact, at least 135 of the House's 211 Democrats oppose the legislation. While Bonior conceded that that was not enough to defeat the measure, he said opponents of the pact were gaining momentum.

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