U.S. Senate set to vote Sept 19 on China trade bill

By Adam Entous/Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A landmark China trade bill that could transform Sino-U.S. relations headed for final passage after months of delay as Senate leaders set a Sept. 19 vote.

Senators said Thursday there was no doubt the legislation, granting permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to China, would pass by a large margin, in a victory for big business and President Clinton.

The last major hurdle was cleared Wednesday when senators rejected a controversial plan to impose sanctions on China for its alleged role in weapons proliferation.

"It's a done deal," said Myron Brilliant, managing director for Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

In the run-up to Tuesday's vote, the Senate will continue to debate amendments, said John Czwartacki, spokesman for Republican Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi.

Nearly 10 amendments remained, calling for China to improve environmental protection and address other U.S. concerns. But supporters of the trade pact were confident all of the amendments would be defeated.

If any amendments were adopted, the China bill would have to be sent back to a bitterly divided House. The House approved the trade bill in May, but is unlikely to do so again so close to the November election, lawmakers said.

Clinton has made passage of permanent normal trade relations for China a top legislative priority for his final year in office.

The president's allies in the trade fight argued that it would benefit the U.S. economy and national security by encouraging Beijing to opens its markets and eventually its political system.

Labor unions, a key Democratic constituency, warned that closer trade ties could cost hundreds of thousands of American workers their jobs, as Chinese goods flood the U.S. market and companies move their factories to China to take advantage of lower wages.

A bitterly divided House approved the legislation after an unprecedented lobbying campaign by pro-trade business groups eager to tap the vast Chinese marketplace, potentially the world's largest with 1.3 billon consumers.

Once approved by the Senate and signed into law by the president, the legislation would end the annual ritual of reviewing Beijing's trade status and guarantee Chinese goods the same low-tariff access to the U.S. market as products from nearly every other nation.

In exchange for the benefits, China has agreed to open a wide range of markets to U.S. businesses under the terms of an agreement setting the stage for Beijing to join the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO) later this year.

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