Senate Ignores China's Human Rights Abuses and Votes for Permanent Trade Rights

Congress chose corporate profits and cheap labor over human and workers' rights as the Senate voted Sept. 19 to give up annual review of China's rights record and grant that country permanent Normal Trade Relations.

The vote, virtually assured after approval by the House of Representatives in May, in effect gives China a blank check to continue its widespread abuse of human and workers' rights. During two weeks of debate on the measure, opponents of permanent NTR offered amendments on subjects ranging from China's weapons proliferation to human rights abuses; all were defeated.

After the House vote, the AFL-CIO pledged that unions would work even harder to educate and mobilize working families as a part of its massive Campaign for Global Fairness—and to hold corporations responsible for their treatment of workers everywhere.

The fight against permanent NTR for China was part of the AFL-CIO's ongoing campaign to "Make the Global Economy Work for Working Families" by joining together with unions, human rights groups and other allies around the world to end child labor and sweatshops, protect and expand the rights of workers and provide a counterbalance to powerful and rich multinational corporations.