WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday gave final approval to a bitterly contested bill granting permanent normal trade relations to China, in a victory for President Clinton (news - web sites) and big business that could transform Sino-U.S. relations.
One of Clinton's top foreign policy objectives for his final year in office, the legislation ends the 20-year-old annual ritual of reviewing China's trade status and guarantees Chinese goods the same low-tariff access to the U.S. market as products from nearly every other nation.
The legislation was approved by the House of Representatives in May after an intense lobbying campaign by business groups eager to tap the vast Chinese marketplace, potentially the world's largest with 1.3 billion consumers.
In exchange for the benefits, China has agreed to open a wide range of markets, from agriculture to telecommunications, under the terms of a landmark agreement setting the stage for Beijing to join the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (news - web sites) (WTO) later this year. The White House said Clinton would sign the trade bill into law in the coming days.[\quote][\b]
We all knew it was going to happen, regardless of what the people want. I'm sure this is a very wise strategy... enrich a communist country, who considers us their #1 enemy, with our hard currency and technology. Brilliant, this plan will surely set the oppressed masses of China free!
And according to last nights nighlty propaganda, errr news, the most important issues in this election are social security (fraud), taxes and senior health care. But I don't buy it-- there have to be many voting Americans out there who do care about the larger picture.
