STATEMENT BY DANA MEAD
CHAIRMAN, THE BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE
CHAIRMAN & CEO, TENNECO

"Today's vote was the opening round in the fight to finally open the world's largest marketplace to American workers, farmers, products and companies. China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) is the next key step - and one we hope Congress will take promptly, once a final market-opening trade agreement is reached.

Congress demonstrated today that it is ready to afford American business and workers unfettered access to worlds of new trade opportunities for America and to bring China under global trade rules. Let's hope that someday we look back at the last year of this millennium as the start of a historic new era of open global trade with the world's largest marketplace."

STATEMENT BY PHILIP M. CONDIT
CHAIRMAN, BRT INTERNATIONAL TRADE & INVESTMENT TASK FORCE
CHAIRMAN & CEO, THE BOEING COMPANY

"Today's vote by the Congress to extend normal trading relations (NTR) status for China is a clear demonstration that Congress and the Administration continue to believe that normal trade with China is crucial to not only strong and stable commercial relations, but to the broader U.S.-China relationship.

We hope this strong signal will help move forward the process of negotiating China's accession to the WTO, thereby laying the foundation for U.S. extension of permanent NTR later this year."