Statement by Representative Bishop on PNTR with China

May 24, 2000

After considering the arguments for and against PNTR, I have concluded that rejecting it would be a serious mistake and passing it would benefit Georgia’s and our area’s economy.

China will soon enter the World Trade Organization (WTO), which oversees the rules of international commerce. The United States is already a member. WTO rules say that members must grant one another “unconditional” low-tariff access to their markets. The current process of annual votes by Congress on China trade amounts to a “condition.” Hence, the U.S. would be out of compliance with WTO rules if PNTR was not passed.

To gain entry into the WTO, China has agreed to open markets that have long been closed, such as agriculture, services, technology, telecommunications, and manufactured goods, and will drop or greatly reduce tariffs. The U.S. has already opened our markets. U.S. exports to China have tripled over the past decade. But China’s exports to the U.S. are seven times greater. That deficit should drop with an expansion of U.S. goods and services under PNTR and WTO.

Unfortunately, China will only give these market-opening benefits to countries that give Chinese products “unconditional” access. So, if we fail to give China PNTR, they will shut U.S. companies out of huge business opportunities in a fast-growing economy of 1.2 billion people. That would impact jobs in our area greatly, according to Governor Roy Barnes, Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin, the 342,000-members of the Georgia Farm Bureau, Proctor and Gamble, Merck Pharmaceutical, Miller Brewing, Phillip Morris, Kraft Foods, Georgia Pacific, Weyerhaeuser, Ayres Aircraft, Carter Manufacturing, Griffin Chemical, Coca-Cola, Bell South, Georgia Power, AT&T, Cargill, Tyson Foods, Gold Kist, American Cotton Shippers, Synovus Financial, AFLAC, UPS, Tobacco Association of the United States, Brown and Williamson, and countless others.

Too many people associated with these area businesses would lose. We just can’t afford NOT to grant PNTR.

Some, including myself, have expressed deeply-felt and well-reasoned concerns about PNTR. Some, including veterans groups, have questioned whether it might compromise our national security. Some farmers and business entrepreneurs feel China’s proclivity for cheating might put the U.S. at an export disadvantage. Others express concern about rewarding a country like China with a horrible record of political suppression, religious persecution, and unfair and inhumane labor practices. I share all of these concerns.

Upon close analysis, however, I believe that failure to pass PNTR would have even worse consequences. Our national security would be endangered because rejection of PNTR would send a clear message that we view China as an adversary. The Chinese are modernizing a military that has more manpower than any country on earth, and only because of our current engagement policy have they agreed to stop transferring anti-ship cruise missiles to Iran and other rogue nations for cash. If they view us as an adversary, rather than a trading partner, they will continue to transfer weapons of mass destruction and endanger our national security.

Moreover, if we are seen as an adversary to China, our bilateral relations with other Asian countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, and even Japan would be affected. These countries would have to choose whether to align themselves with China, their strong neighbor, or the U.S. on the other side of the world. Taiwan President-elect Chen Shui-Bian supports PNTR because he says it would promote greater cooperation between mainland China and the free world as well as contribute to peace and stability.

As for human rights, labor and environmental issues, it is clear the U.S. cannot exert influence if it is disengaged. Although the effectiveness of the oversight measures in the PNTR package is disputed, the measures do, in fact, make workable mechanisms available to the U.S. to take retaliatory action against any breakdown in our expectations of China. With the passage of PNTR, China will have the opportunity to prove to the world its ability to greatly improve its record. In turn, the U.S. and other WTO nations will have the opportunity to hold China more accountable.

My vote for PNTR is a vote to open markets in China in order to promote jobs in Georgia, and for a safer world.