* American Lands Alliance * Center for International Environmental Law * Defenders of Wildlife * Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund * Friends of the Earth * Humane Society of the United States * Pacific Environment and Resources Center * Rainforest Action Network * Sierra Club *

 Environmental and Animal Protection Organizations Oppose PNTR for China

May 11, 2000

Dear Member of Congress,

On behalf of the more than 9 million members and supporters of our organizations, we urge you to oppose granting China Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) at this time. The US-China bilateral trade deal underlying the debate over PNTR does not adequately address environmental and animal protection considerations. The deal does not encourage environmentally sustainable development in China or improve the transparency of the US trade policy making process, and therefore fails to live up to the promises made last year to " put a human face on trade." By rejecting PNTR, Congress would not be rejecting engagement with China. Instead, the United States would simply retain the right to review a vital commercial relationship on an annual basis to ensure that environmental and animal protections are not left behind in the rush to increase trade.

In the wake of the Seattle Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization we believe that Congress and the Administration must act to address public concerns over trade. Our organizations and many Members of Congress have worked for years to ensure that trade and investment rules support rather than undermine environmental protection. While every negotiation presents a unique set of circumstances, we believe that all economically and environmentally significant trade agreements must be developed with public input; assessed prior to completion to determine the likely environmental impact; and must strike a balance between commercial and environmental goals, so as to accentuate the positive impacts of trade and avoid environmentally damaging impacts. The bilateral agreement between the United States and China fails to meet these basic requirements.

Our opposition to the deal is not based on opposition to engagement with China. In fact, it is precisely because the US-China trade and investment relationship raises many environmental implications that we find it so regrettable that US negotiators failed to bring environmental concerns to the bargaining table. We support cooperation between China and the US to address issues such as the trade in endangered species, deforestation, clean technology, and invasive species. The US should also take unilateral action to ensure that our economic ties with China contribute to sustainable development. Congress and the Administration should require US companies in China to abide by minimum environmental standards, especially "right-to-know" requirements to report toxic emissions. US taxpayer funding for projects in China through bilateral agencies and multilateral organizations should be reoriented from polluting coal-fired power plants towards renewable energy.

Further, we are concerned that should it become a WTO member, China could complicate efforts to make the WTO more democratic and more responsive to environmental concerns. Significant reform of the WTO will be difficult enough as it is, requiring a consensus of all 136 member countries. Giving the nature of its domestic politics, adding China to the WTO now would make the formation of a consensus for democracy more difficult.

Instead of putting a stamp of approval on an environmentally flawed trade agreement, Congress should prioritize trade policy reforms at home and internationally. Congress should help open the domestic trade advisory committee system to environmental interests, contribute to a robust policy of environmental assessment of trade agreements, and ensure that environmental agencies have primary responsibility for setting trade and environment policy. Congress should also focus on environmental reform of the WTO, making sure the organization defers to environmental and animal protection laws rather than undermining them. We are eager to work with you on such a reform agenda, and to make trade with all countries clean, green, and fair.

Brent Blackwelder President Friends of the Earth	Patricia Forkan Executive Vice President Humane Society of the United States
Daniel Seligman Responsible Trade Program Director Sierra Club	William J. Snape III Vice President for Laws and Litigation Defenders of Wildlife
Jim Jontz Executive Director American Lands Alliance	Durwood Zaelke President Center for International Environmental Law
Paige Fischer Director of Forest and Trade Program Pacific Environment and Resources Center	Martin Wagner Director, International Program Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund
Randall Hayes President Rainforest Action Network