Agence France Presse / Nathaniel Harrison
WASHINGTON, March 29 (AFP) - President Bill Clinton on Wednesday warned Congress that both the economy and national security of the United States would be endangered if it failed to grant permanent trade privileges to China.
"There is no more important long-term economic or national security issue facing us today," Clinton said in a nationally televised press conference.
"Congress should pass permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with China this spring," he said.
If lawmakers refuse to give China the same trade privileges accorded by Washington to all but a handful of countries, he warned, "the economic consequences will be bad."
"The national security consequences will be worse."
Administration officials, who say the president is preoccupied with winning the Congressional vote on China trade, acknowledge they face an uphill battle.
Their task has been complicated of late by renewed Chinese threats against Taiwan, which strengthens the hand of anti-Chinese forces in Congress. But Clinton on Wednesday said that if US-Chinese relations had reached "a critical stage," it was primarily because of the trade issue.
Congress must approve permanent normal trade relations for China if a landmark accord signed last November with Beijing is to take effect. Under terms of the deal, China agreed to lower tariffs on US goods and to take other market-opening measures.
In exchange, Washington agreed to back China's bid to join the World Trade Organization. But Beijing made it clear that the concessions it offered were dependent on Congressional approval of normal trade relations on a permanent basis.
At present, China's trade privileges are reviewed annually by Congress.
The administration now fears that if PNTR is rejected, China will go ahead and join the WTO anyway, making the market-access measures it negotiated with the United States available to Washington's competitors, notably Canada and the European Union.
Under such circumstances, US exporters will be left out in the cold.
"If we do not do this," Clinton said Wednesday, "then the full benefits of all we negotiated will flow to other countries in the WTO but not to the United States."
Granting permanent trade privileges to China is opposed by many lawmakers, notably in Clinton's own Democratic Party, who argue that by abandoning the annual review process, the United States would lose whatever leverage it has on Beijing to respect human rights and core labor standards.
Organized labor, traditionally a bastion of support for Democratic Party candidates, is also mounting a spirited campaign against PNTR for China for the same reasons.
Looking ahead to a heated domestic election campaign, the administration wants a vote in Congress by the end of May.
Clinton and members of his cabinet have repeatedly described last November's accord as a one-sided victory for the United States, arguing that all the concessions will come from China.
The president on Wednesday characterized the agreement as a "100-to-nothing deal for America."
"This requires us to take no further action on our part to lower tariffs or open markets," he said.
By contrast, China has committed itself not only to lower tariffs but to such steps as opening up telecommunications to foreign investment and to authorizing the sale of US-made cars on its domestic market, Clinton maintained.
"If we can just get everybody to read what the agreement does, it will pass handily," he predicted.
"This agreement will create jobs for Americans. It will create jobs for labor union members. It will grow this economy.":
