WASHINGTON-While the Senate appears ready to pass China trade legislation sent to Congress by President Clinton last week, the administration lacks the votes in the House to pass a measure that would dramatically open China’s vast wireless telecom market to foreign firms.
The vote, which could take place by Memorial Day, would extend normal trade relations to China on a permanent basis. Currently, Congress reviews and debates China trade policy annually.
If Congress misses the Memorial Day deadline, the likelihood decreases that lawmakers will vote on such a controversial bill so close to the fall elections.
In exchange for PNTR status and U.S. support for China membership in the World Trade Organization, China-as part of a trade agreement with the United States last November-agreed to remove trade barriers to wireless telecom and other business sectors.
China, with its 1.3 billion people, represents potentially the largest global wireless market. Making the business opportunity all the sweeter is the fact that China-owing to its feeble telecom infrastructure-will rely heavily on wireless technology to meet business and consumer communications needs.
Motorola Inc., Lucent Technologies Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. are among the U.S. wireless vendors competing for contracts in China.
The wireless industry is aligned with a broad cross-section of U.S. businesses that are spending millions of dollars to win congressional approval of the China trade bill.
William Archey, president of the American Electronics Association, said permanent normal trade relations legislation “will induce the greater opening of a market of 1 billion people to the American high-tech industry-providing potent new fuel for the very industry that has been the prime engine of America’s current unprecedented prosperity.”
But the business lobby is matched in dollars and manpower by organized labor, environmentalists and human rights advocates.
“It is disappointing that the Clinton administration chose to go ahead with PNTR for Communist China, especially in light of the recent reports of escalating human and worker rights abuses,” said James Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
But the White House believes it can leverage democratic improvements in China by engaging it economically.
“By joining the WTO, China is not simply agreeing to import more of our products; it is agreeing to import one of democracy’s most cherished values-economic freedom,” Clinton said in speech at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore last Wednesday. The president’s China bill was sent to Congress the same day.
The trade vote is all the more combustible in light of allegations of high-tech technology transfers and nuclear spying by China. Moreover, threats by China to use military force against Taiwan have unnerved some on Capitol Hill.
Despite having the votes in the Senate, some lawmakers have criticized Clinton and Vice President Gore for saying trade agreements could include environmental and labor amendments.
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) chastised Clinton last week for not making a stronger effort to campaign for the China trade bill.
