WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - The chairman of the powerful U.S. House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday called on President Bill Clinton to deliver a nationwide television address urging the American public and Congress to support a landmark trade agreement with China.
"This morning, I'm calling on President Clinton to schedule a national television address in prime time about the vital need for the United States to continue our normal trading relationship with China," Bill Archer, a Texas Republican, told business leaders.
"He can do this, he must do this, because without his involvement our historic opportunity will be lost," he said.
The United States forged a trade pact with China last November that will usher the giant country into the World Trade Organization.
In exchange for China opening its markets, the White House says Congress must grant Beijing permanent normal trade relations (NTR) -- a status it now gets only after an annual congressional review.
The administration has asked Congress to approve permanent NTR by June, fearing further delay would bog it down in election politics. The U.S. general election is in November.
Many in Congress, including much of Clinton's Democratic party, are reluctant to grant China this status because of concerns about human rights and opposition from U.S. labor unions who say the trade pact will destroy American jobs.
Clinton has addressed the nation on several critical issues in recent years, mostly related to national security such as the confrontation with Iraq and NATO's bombing of Kosovo.
"Clearly, our relationship with China is equally vital to America," Archer told the Emergency Committee for American Trade.:
