By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Clinton and Congress are headed for an election-year showdown over whether the United States should give China the same permanent trade benefits it grants most other nations, with supporters seeking votes in both the House and Senate before Memorial Day.
But even as Clinton formally sent the measure to Congress and backers worked at bringing about a quick vote in the Senate, opponents sought to rally their forces.
Both sides are depicting the upcoming debate on China as one of the biggest of the year, one complicated by election year politics.
Citing concerns about China's record on human rights, worker protections and the environment, Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., declared in a "Dear Colleague" letter: "People in this country have real worries that this deal may hurt them more than it will help."
The legislation that Clinton sent to Congress on Wednesday is required under a market-opening agreement the Clinton administration struck with China last year to allow Beijing to join the World Trade Organization, the Geneva-based international organization that oversees world trade rules.
Currently, China is the only major U.S. trading partner whose normal trading status - previously called most-favored nation - must be renewed annually. The measure, which would end these annual reviews, is being fought by labor and environmental groups. The administration, business groups and most congressional Republicans support the China trade deal.
But Democratic support is mixed, and is particularly weak in the House, where labor is a key Democratic constituency.
Clinton urged Congress to pass the legislation "as soon as possible."
And he reiterated that Congress will not be voting directly on whether to admit China to the WTO, only on "whether the United States will share in the economic benefits of China joining the WTO."
A vote against extending permanent normal trade relations "will cost America jobs as our competitors in Europe, Asia and elsewhere capture Chinese markets that we otherwise would have served."
Mindful that support is stronger in the Senate than in the House, backers hoped to move it quickly toward the sympathetic Senate Finance Committee and then to the Senate floor in hopes that this would give it momentum.
"That's the game plan," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., a chief Senate advocate for increased trade with China. "We're heartened the president has sent up the legislation and has set in motion the momentum for passage - in both the House and the Senate."
Even if the Senate debates the measure first, it must delay a final vote on the measure to observe a constitutional requirement that trade measures involving tariffs originate in the House.
The bill would assure China the same access to U.S. markets and lowest-possible tariffs that are now viewed as routine with other nations.
Clinton said the bill offers the most significant opportunity for positive change in China since President Nixon's historic visit three decades ago.
"We can work to pull China in the right direction or we can turn our backs and almost certainly push it in the wrong direction," the president said.
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., said earlier this week that the administration's failure to launch a new round of global trade negotiations in December in Seattle raised questions about Clinton's commitment to free trade. He suggested Clinton wasn't doing enough to promote the China trade package.
But Baucus argued, "The time is now, and the president is fully engaged."
The issue is more contentious on Capitol Hill than on the presidential campaign trail. Vice President Al Gore supports the pact, as do both Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Arizona Sen. John McCain.
However, Gore raised doubts about the administration's commitment at AFL-CIO meetings in New Orleans last month. Labor leaders said Gore promised them that if elected president, he would renegotiate the China agreement to include protections for worker rights and the environment.:
