By Adam Entous
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House is pressing for a swift vote in the U.S. Senate on a landmark trade agreement with China, hoping to score an early victory that would put pressure on a bitterly divided House of Representatives.
President Clinton is expected to meet with key senators on Tuesday before submitting legislation this week asking Congress to grant China permanent trading privileges in the U.S. market.
Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky said the Senate Finance Committee could "proceed immediately" to deliberations. Republican and Democratic leaders said the panel could vote later this month.
The legislation is sure to pass the Finance Committee, which is responsible for trade and tax issues in the Senate. Fifteen senators on the 20-member panel told Reuters they would support the pact.
In the 100-member Senate, the vote may be close, but Democratic Leader Tom Daschle said he expected at least 60 senators to support the White House, enough to override a filibuster.
"I think we have the votes," the South Dakotan told reporters.
The White House is counting on an easy victory in the Finance Committee to give the trade legislation momentum in the House, where support has eroded.
It remains to be seen whether the agreement would garner a 218-vote majority in the 435-member House, though administration officials were optimistic in the face of stiff opposition from labor unions and other groups.
Markets Would Be Opened
Under the trade agreement, hammered out last year, China would open a wide range of markets, from agriculture to telecommunications.
In exchange, Clinton says the Republican-led Congress must grant China permanent normal trade relations, a status Beijing now gets only after an annual congressional review.
Permanent NTR would guarantee Chinese goods the same low-tariff access to U.S. markets as products from nearly every other nation.
The trade deal is crucial to China's application to the World Trade Organization, though Beijing must still wrap up talks with the European Union and other WTO members to enter the Geneva-based body, which sets global trading rules.
The Senate Finance Committee could vote on the pact as soon as late March, Sen. Charles Grassley, who chairs the trade subcommittee, said.
"It would be good planning to have it pass Senate (Finance) before it comes up in the House," the Iowa Republican told Reuters. "This is one (Clinton) wants, and he's got the capability of getting it. He better not screw up."
By contrast, the opposition may have the upper hand in the House, where two out of three Democrats oppose permanent NTR, according to Democratic Whip David Bonior of Michigan. Labor unions and their Democratic allies have demanded that China improve human rights before joining the WTO.
Clinton is seeking final passage by both chambers before June. Timing is critical since the congressional session will be cut short by the November election, and some lawmakers may balk at the trade agreement as the campaign heats up.:
