NEWS

from the United Steelworkers of America

Washington, D.C. -- United Steelworkers of America (USWA) President George Becker today told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that treating China the same as every other country by granting it PNTR "is both immoral and impractical, and would eliminate the leverage America has to promote human rights and the rule of law."

In addition Becker told the Committee China’s accession into the WTO "puts our entire manufacturing base at risk. We’re currently losing manufacturing jobs at the rate of 500,000 per year.

"PNTR - and the underlying accession agreement with China -- will only accelerate this trend as companies relocate their plants and equipment to China."

The Steelworkers President cited a litany of worker and human rights violations that he said should preclude China from being granted PNTR, including:

• Engaging in forced abortions to ensure compliance with its family planning policies;
• Repressing religious freedoms in China and engaging in the political and religious oppression of Tibetans;
• Proliferating the spread of weapons of mass destruction; and
• Brutally suppressing attempts by Chinese workers to organize unions.

Becker cited a recent investigation of 16 factories in China that produce goods for some of the largest U. S. companies. The report revealed that these companies’ Chinese contractors, "continue to systematically violate the most fundamental human and worker rights, while paying below subsistence wages."

"For the members of my union," Becker testified, "this isn’t some academic issue -- it’s a monumental threat to their security. China has the largest steel industry in the world and it’s modernizing rapidly --- much of it at government expense."

He said maintaining and enhancing our steel industry "isn’t simply an exercise in maintaining employment, it’s a basic component of national security.

"Ten years from now, I don’t want our nation to be unable to supply needed defense weaponry because we don’t have the steel capacity in this country." Becker said this was possible since more than 25% of U. S. steel consumption already comes from foreign suppliers.

Becker concluded that "PNTR isn’t just about trade. It’s about our basic values and ideals and whether we think they are important enough to fight for and promote."

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