Agence France Presse / Leon Bruneau
WASHINGTON, April 4 (AFP) - The battle over trade with China is heating up in the US Congress as special interests wage a bitter battle in the wings, trying to win over crucial undecided legislators as the vote's outcome is anyone's guess.
For the last few weeks, the hallowed halls of Congress have been filled with pressure groups hoping to sway wavering legislators or convert those who hold an opposing view on whether or not the United States should grant China permanent normal trade relations (PNTR).
"It is a huge priority. It is the trade vote of a generation," said Leslie Griffin, director for Asia affairs at the US Chamber of Commerce.
"We are devoting a lot of resources," she said, adding that the organization was holding dozens of meetings with legislators and had launched a "major media outreach," on the benefits of granting China normal trade status.
Not a day goes by without some group pontificating at a press conference, while Congressional meetings on the issue multiply.
Monday, for example, the National Association of Manufacturers could be seen courting the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives and extolling the benefits of such an agreement with Beijing.
The same day, 200 CEO's from the US High-tech Coalition on China wrote their legislators, calling the vote of PNTR the most important one the members will make this year.
On the other side, unions, led by the AFL-CIO, made their tour, trying to garner support for the April 12 rally they have planned on the steps of the capital against the proposal.
The adoption of PNTR is necessary for finalizing a bilateral accord signed by the United States and China last November on the conditions for China to join the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The White House is confident that it will get the green light from Congress despite a growing number of defections among Democrats.
Last week, Gene Sperling, an economic advisor to President Bill Clinton, said that while supporters know that battle will be hard-fought, they expect to win.
"This is a fight that we always thought would be a tough fight perhaps down to the wire, but one we expect to prevail on," Sperling said Thursday.
And on Sunday, White House chief of staff John Podesta said on the CBS television: "I think we're making progress and I think we'll have the votes in Congress."
A date for the vote has not yet been set, although Republican Richard Armey, the House majority leader, said that it will be held "some time before the end of May."
The outcome is unknown, as Washington is in the throws of a heated presidential campaign.
The tension is highest in the House of Representatives, where conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats have formed an unusual coalition against PNTR.
Meanwhile, the Senate is almost certain to approve the measure.
According to an unofficial poll by Congress Daily, of the 435 representatives, 124 members said they will support normalizing trade relations, including 93 Republicans and 31 Democrats.
But only 122 members said they were opposed, including 37 Republicans and 83 Democrats, leaving the majority of representatives undecided.
"We are optimistic," Griffin said. "But the key is all these undecided ... we think a majority of them will vote" in favor.:
