Arlington, VA -- The Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) welcomed the announcement today of former Presidents Bush, Carter and Ford's unified support of Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with China.

"The endorsement of three former U.S. Presidents for PNTR with China sends a very clear signal to Congress about this key legislation." said EIA President Dave McCurdy.

''In economic terms, the case is clear,'' the former presidents wrote in an open letter. ''The agreement to bring China into the WTO is the product of more than 13 years of tough negotiations conducted by four administrations, Democratic and Republican.''

The Clinton Administration, Republican leaders in Congress, and U.S. high tech business groups, like EIA, have been lobbying lawmakers for weeks to get the legislation passed. The measure is scheduled for a vote in the U.S. House the week of May 22.

Today's announcement of support from the former Presidents follows recent announcements of support from eleven previously undecided members of Congress.

The new Democratic supporters of PNTR are Washington Rep. Brian Baird; Texas Rep. Charlie Gonzalez; Texas Rep. Ralph Hall; Oregon Rep. Darlene Hooley; Texas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson; North Carolina Rep. David Price, Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer and California Rep. Lois Capps. New Republican supporters include Rep. Edward Royce of California, Rep. John Thune of South Dakota, and Rep. Mary Bono of California.

"This vote is extremely important to the well-being of our nation's high tech and electronic industries," continued McCurdy. "This is, without question, the most important trade vote of the decade."

EIA has launched a full-scale campaign to generate grassroots support for PNTR with China. Most notably, EIA has 1) provided each of it's 2100 member companies a step-by-step manual explaining how to mobilize their workers behind PNTR with China, 2) attended high-tech trade shows across the U.S. to educate the high-tech community and generate support for this legislation among its rank-and-file, and 3) placed specialty software on its website (www.eia.org) that allows one to send a message to Congress supporting PNTR with China.

The Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) is a partnership of electronic and high-tech associations and companies committed to shared knowledge and shared influence. Comprised of more than 2,100 members that provide two million jobs for American workers, EIA represents 80 percent of the $550 billion U.S. electronics industry. EIA's sector associations and members represent consumer electronics, telecommunications, components, government electronics, semiconductor standards, as well as many other vital areas of the U.S. electronics industry.