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Two US Congressional Committees Approve PNTR
Two key committees in both the US House and Senate Wednesday approved the legislation to grant permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status to China in a victory for President Bill Clinton.
The House Ways and Means Committee approved the measure 34-4 as previously undecided members on the panel supported the Clinton administration.
"This bill turns our relationship with China in a positive direction," Ways and Means Committee Vice Chairman Philip Crane, an Illinois Republican, said.
Earlier in the day, the Senate Finance Committee approved the measure 18-1.
William Roth, chairman of the committee, called the measure "a defining moment in our relationship with China."
"It is one of the most important pieces of legislation that we have faced in the past decade," he said.
The House and Senate will vote on the legislation respectively in next week and early June.
Observers said the bill will be surely approved in the Senate but the vote in the House can be very close.
The bill, which would do away with annual reviews of China's trade status, has the strong support of the Clinton administration and business groups but is opposed by organized labor and some human rights groups, particularly in the House.
The Untied States and China last year signed an agreement on China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), under which the U.S. will grant PNTR status to China. The agreement will be effective only after being approved by Congress. President Clinton warned Wednesday that rejecting PNTR with China would invite "a future of dangerous confrontation and constant insecurity."
Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush also urged Congress to pass the legislation, saying it was a "pressing question that will not wait until the next president takes office. "
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