No China trade vote without weapons compromise, Lott aides say

From staff and wire reports

July 14, 2000
Web posted at: 5:16 p.m. EDT (2116 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Despite pressure from business interests and the White House, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott won't schedule a vote on normalizing trade with China while negotiations over a related weapons non-proliferation measure remain stalled.

Supporters of granting China permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) have pushed Lott, R-Mississippi, to schedule a Senate vote on the issue before the Senate's summer recess begins in late July. Business leaders and the Clinton administration say extended delays could jeopardize the measure.

"There is not that kind of urgency on China PNTR," Lott told reporters Friday. "It could be done earlier or later."

The pact would open a wide range of Chinese markets to U.S. businesses and ease the communist nation's entry into the World Trade Organization. It would end the annual ritual of reviewing Beijing's trade status and guarantee Chinese goods the same low-tariff access to U.S. markets that most other nations enjoy.

Passing the China trade bill is among President Clinton's top legislative priorities for his final year in office. The House of Representatives easily passed the landmark trade agreement in May, but Lott has so far refused to schedule a final vote in the Senate.

One of the last remaining hurdles in bringing PNTR to the Senate floor is the controversial bill sponsored by Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tennessee, and Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-New Jersey, that would require the president to punish China for selling advanced weapons systems.

The bill would require the United States to impose sanctions on China, Chinese companies and other groups if they aid other nations in developing or acquiring nuclear, chemical and other deadly weapons.

Thompson has said unless he gets a separate vote on a bill to penalize the Chinese for weapons proliferation, he will offer it as an amendment to PNTR. Supporters fear that could ultimately sink the trade deal.

Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tennessee

Thompson has Lott's support, and Democrats and the White House have been meeting with the Tennessee senator in hopes of amending the measure.

"We're not making much progress," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana.

Supporters fear a Senate vote closer to the November elections might endanger the trade pact, especially as many environmental and organized labor groups remain strongly opposed to the measure.

Some Senate Republicans have recommended that Lott hold off on the vote until September, in order to keep alive a divisive issue for the Democrats -- many of whom will rely on the grass-roots efforts of labor groups in their re-election bids -- until after their convention.

But a Lott spokesman said the Senate majority leader's only rush is "to complete as much of his work as possible, including the spending bills, and getting moving on fixing Thompson's bill."

But supporters dismiss Thompson's proposal as a "poison pill." The White House believes the measure singles out China and ties the hands of the president on the issue of sanctions. Aides on both sides of the negotiations say that talks broke down after Thompson offered changes to the White House that were "not acceptable."

"It's a big mess right now," said a key Democratic aide. "Working with Thompson has become a waste of time."

A senior Thompson aide said his most recent offer of a legislative compromise made "considerable concessions" to the White House, including broadening it to apply not only to China, but "other significant suppliers of weapons of mass destruction." The Tennessee Republican also offered other waivers to ease restrictions on the annual review process of weapons proliferation and penalties the President would have to employ.

CNN's Dana Bash and Reuters contributed to this report.