AFL-CIO Launches New Grassroots Campaign to Stop Congress from Granting China Permanent Normal Trade Relations February 23, 2000 Help | Search:

New Television Ads Tell Members of Congress, "Keep China on Probation"

New Peter Hart Research Polling Shows Voters Strongly Disapprove of Giving China Permanent Free Trade Status

Washington, D.C.— Today the AFL-CIO launched a new grassroots mobilization campaign calling upon members of Congress not to scrap their annual reviews of China's human rights and trade record. The first wave of a new national television ad campaign began airing in the districts of 11 members of the House of Representatives and three Senators.

The new ads urge working families to call their elected Representative and urge him or her to vote against permanent normal trade relations and to "keep China on probation" until the Made in China label "stands for fairness."

"China—which has not yet ratified the two United Nations covenants on human rights it agreed to sign before President Clinton's trip to China in 1998—has broken every trade agreement it has signed with the United States over the past 10 years. Chinese government officials already are saying they have no intention of complying with the agreement they signed with the U.S. only three months ago," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.

"And China is one of the worst offenders of human rights in the world. It is a country that does not tolerate political dissent or free speech. China uses executions and torture to maintain order, persecutes religious minorities, and violates workers' rights," he continued.

The U.S. currently runs a trade deficit of nearly $70 billion with China, where wages are extremely low. According to a report released by the National Labor Committee, factories in China which produce goods for export to the U.S. pay their workers between thirteen cents and 35 cents an hour.

The AFL-CIO's campaign is the first front of a major new multi-year campaign to make the global economy respect people, not just profits. The campaign consists of four key components: educating union members and the general public about the global economy, fighting for workers' rights in the global economy, building global solidarity among working families and holding multinational corporations accountable for their role in speeding up the race to the bottom.

"Public opinion is strongly opposed to ending the system of annual reviews for China," said Sweeney, referring to a new national survey of registered voters conducted by Peter Hart Research Associates which shows that although support for free trade policies has increased since 1997, Americans feel strongly that U.S. trade agreements should prevent the loss of jobs in the U.S., protect the environment, and stop unfair competition from countries who violate workers' rights.

According to the Hart Research srvey, the majority of voters (65 percent) oppose giving China permanent trade access without allowing Congress to annually review its record. Sixty-three percent of Democrats and 75 percent of Republicans oppose permanent normal trade relations for China. The public is particularly critical of China's trade policies: 61 percent say China has unfair policies, up from 48 percent in 1994, and higher than Japan (51 percent) and Mexico (35 percent). Seventy-two percent say that China ranks below average in terms of labor conditions, and 81 percent say it ranks below average in respecting human rights.

By a four-to-one ratio, voters say they would be less likely to support their member of Congress if he or she votes in favor of permanent free trade with China— and those margins hold for both Democratic and Republican voters. Only 12 percent say they would be more likely to support a member of Congress who votes for China permanent normal trade relations.

Seven in 10 voters reject the argument frequently made by supporters of permanent free trade with China that "the best way to improve human rights in China is not to restrict trade, but to engage China and include it in important international bodies, such as the World Trade Organization." They also reject the arguments that the agreement will "expand our exports and create good jobs in America" and that "American business will be hurt if other countries have access to the Chinese market and we don't."

"Over the coming weeks, we are going to work hard to mobilize working families to make their voices heard in the halls of Congress. We'll be calling and visiting members of Congress in their home districts and on Capitol Hill, and we'll hold teach-ins, town hall meetings and rallies," said AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson.

The AFL-CIO will also mobilize working families to join people of faith in the Jubilee 2000 rally which will be held on April 9 in Washington, D.C. to call for debt relief for developing countries. Many developing country governments' ability to meet their citizens' basic needs and fund the building blocks of strong development—education, health care and infrastructure—have been crippled by an enormous debt burden.

For Information: Naomi Walker 202/637-5093