Copyright 2000 The National Journal, Inc.
The National Journal
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May 20, 2000
SECTION: TRADE; Pg. 1612; Vol. 32, No. 21
LENGTH: 493 words
HEADLINE:
China Trade Package Sails Through Committees
BYLINE:
Robert O'Neill
BODY:
The debate over enhanced trade ties between the United
States and
China was surprisingly subdued in two key
congressional committees on May
17, but turbulence awaits on the
House floor.
The House Ways and Means Committee approved legislation
granting
permanent normal trade relations to China on a lopsided
34-4 vote. Of the 10
panel members-including five Democrats-who
had not taken a position
beforehand, nine supported the bill. The
legislation (H.R. 4444)
incorporated a proposal, floated by a
bipartisan group of lawmakers, to add
protections for U.S.
markets against any import surges from China.
Earlier in the day, the Senate Finance Committee
approved
similar legislation (S. 2277), minus the import surges amendment,
on a 19-1 vote.
As the House prepares for its
China PNTR debate on May 24
or 25, labor unions have been
busy pressuring members, especially
Democrats, to oppose the legislation.
The days leading up to the House committee vote were
dominated by the question of whether to add to the bill a number
of
provisions crafted by Reps. Sander M. Levin, D-Mich., the
ranking member on
the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, and
Douglas K. Bereuter, R-Neb., the
chairman of the International
Relations Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee.
The provisions included the import surge protection,
as
well as the creation of a special commission to continue
overseeing
China's human-rights record. They also include
requirements for a continual
review of China's compliance with
its trade obligations.
The committee added only the import surge protection, and
the
debate over how much more of the Levin-Bereuter proposal to
incorporate will
now move to the Republican leadership offices
and to the House Rules
Committee, where the inclusion of
additional provisions is being weighed
against the number of
votes they will attract or frighten off.
After a period of uncertainty, the Clinton
Administration
is now supporting the accompanying legislation. "We believe
that
Levin-Bereuter is essential, and we will be working for it," U.S.
Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, who negotiated the
trade deal
with China, told reporters outside the committee
meeting.
In the Senate, the bill drew bipartisan support from
Finance
Committee members. "The legislation before us represents,
in my view, not
only the single-most important bill the committee
will take up in this
Congress, but a defining moment in our
relationship with China," said
Chairman William V. Roth Jr., R-
Del.
Sens. Max
Baucus, D-Mont., and Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah,
circulated a "Dear Colleague"
letter urging lawmakers to support
the provisions favored by the House when
the bill reaches the
Senate floor. The Senate will hold off action until the
House
votes on its version of the measure.
LOAD-DATE: May 23, 2000 
