U.S. Senate spars over Chinese arms sales, trade

September 12, 2000
Web posted at: 8:43 AM HKT (0043 GMT)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Beijing's critics in the U.S. Senate pressed on Monday for passage of a plan to sanction China for its alleged role in weapons proliferation, but ran into stiff opposition from lawmakers who warned it could scuttle a landmark trade pact.

After months of delay, the Senate is expected to vote this week on legislation that would grant permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to China.

But first, critics of China's Communist government get a chance to offer amendments that could scuttle the trade bill, including a plan calling for Washington to impose sanctions on Chinese firms that proliferate nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.

Vehemently opposed by the White House and pro-trade business groups, the nonproliferation plan may be the biggest remaining hurdle to final passage of the China trade bill.

Opponents of the amendment were confident it would be defeated in a vote expected as early as Tuesday, but Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi said the nonproliferation issue would "test the will of the Senate."

Supporters of the nonproliferation measure, proposed by Republican Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee and backed by Lott, say it is needed to keep Beijing in check and prevent nations like Iran, Libya and North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons.

China is "engaging in activities that pose a mortal danger to the welfare of this country," Thompson said.

"The world today is a very dangerous place, populated with tyrants and despots hostile to the United States," added North Carolina Republican Sen. Jesse Helms. "At every turn in the road we discover that communist China is supplying all of these countries with technology which ultimately can be used to kill Americans."

But Thompson's supporters concede it will be difficult to persuade the Senate to add the nonproliferation amendment to the trade bill. The White House and big business warned that the arms amendment's passage could spark a backlash from Beijing, punish U.S. and European companies and doom permanent normal trade relations for the year.

"It is legislation that would effectively gut the economic benefits of a permanent trade deal between the United States and China," said Sen. Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat.

If Thompson's amendment or any other is adopted by the Senate, the China trade bill would have to be sent back to a bitterly divided House of Representatives. The House approved the trade bill in May but is unlikely to do so again so close to the November election, many lawmakers said.

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

According to a Reuters poll of the 100-member Senate, 69 lawmakers said they would support or were likely to support the trade bill, more than enough to override a vote-blocking filibuster and ensure final passage.

Once approved by the Senate and signed into law by the president, the bill 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, 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.

After the House vote in May, Thompson's proposal appeared to gain momentum amid new allegations of Chinese missile sales to Pakistan and military assistance to Libya and Iran.

But in recent weeks, business groups have mounted an intense lobbying campaign, prompting many senators to withdraw their support for the amendment.

Under Thompson's amendment, Washington could impose sanctions against the Chinese government, companies and other groups if they proliferate weapons of mass destruction. Russia could face similar sanctions under the plan.

To address the concerns of farm-state lawmakers, Thompson agreed to exempt agricultural products and medicine from the proposed sanctions. Thompson said his amendment would also give the president some discretion in imposing the sanctions.

"It is inconceivable to me that we can address these trade- related issues and embrace our new trading partner -- China -- without addressing the fact that they're making this world and particularly the United States a more dangerous place to live," Thompson said.

But the White House and business groups said it was still unacceptable. In a letter to senators, the Business Coalition for U.S.-China Trade said the proposal would "punish America, not China."

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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