John J. Sweeney, President, AFL-CIO - Letter to
Congress Urging Vote Against Legislation Granting Permanent Normal
Trade Relations Status to China
January 28, 2000
Dear Senator/Representative:
As globalization increasingly touches the lives of American
families, trade agreements can no longer be treated as the sole
province of business. The AFL-CIO fervently believes that the rules
of the global economy—rules such as those set in the trade agreement
between the United States and China in regard to its accession to
the World Trade Organization—must take into account all of society.
Human values, not just business values, must inform these trade
agreements.
The administration has made a grave miscalculation of the costs and
benefits of bringing China into the WTO under the terms of the
recently negotiated agreement. The American people support trade,
but strongly believe that trade agreements must protect workers'
rights, human rights and environmental protections. The proposed
U.S. agreement with China does not reflect those values.
The AFL-CIO, on behalf of 13 million workers and their families,
strongly urges you to vote against legislation granting permanent
normal trade relations status to China. Recognizing that the
Congress will not have the opportunity to vote on China's accession
to the WTO nor on the specific terms of the accession agreement with
China, we believe that Congress should not give up its ability to
review China's trade compliance, its observance of workers' rights
and human rights and its progress on environmental issues.
In Seattle, many voices joined to express broad concerns about how
globalization affects everyday lives. These urgently felt concerns
cannot be ignored. Workers in this country and around the world need
rules that protect them from exploitation. Developing countries need
both the resources and the technical assistance to free themselves
from crippling debt burdens, to engage in trade negotiations on an
equal footing and to implement and enforce adequate labor and
environmental standards. Protection of the environment must not take
a back seat to trade liberalization.
Congress has a responsibility to do its part to assure that
globalization and the international institutions that guide it are
responsive to these concerns.
Extending permanent NTR to China does not address these concerns.
Congress must demand a broader, more responsive global policy from
this administration by rejecting permanent NTR for China.
China has demonstrated that it is not ready for membership in the
World Trade Organization (WTO). The Chinese government repeatedly
and flagrantly violates international norms on fundamental human
rights, including freedom of association, freedom of speech and
religious freedom. Independent trade union activity is brutally
repressed, and today, many labor activists are serving lengthy terms
in hard-labor camps for their efforts to give voice to workers'
concerns. Once China gets full privileges in the WTO, which has no
rules or minimum standards regarding compliance with core labor
standards, the United States will lose its economic leverage on
these issues.
Of key importance in terms of the United States' commercial
relationship with China, China has shown little regard for trade
agreements it has signed, or even for the terms of WTO accession
agreed to last November. According to the US Trade Representative's
own annual reports, China has violated the terms of all four
bilateral trade agreements it has signed with the United States
since 1992—on market opening, prison labor, intellectual property
rights and textiles. The burgeoning US trade deficit with
China—approaching $70 billion in 1999—vividly illustrates the
outcome of China's stubborn refusal to play by the rules it has
agreed to in principle.
To suggest that China's entry into the WTO will bring it under the
rule of law is simply wishful thinking. Chinese government officials
have repeatedly stated that they have no intention of complying with
the spirit or the letter of the bilateral WTO accession agreement in
a number of areas, including insurance, telecommunications, grain,
beef and petroleum. The WTO itself is not coping well with rapidly
changing world economic conditions and relationships. WTO dispute
settlement provisions are not designed to confront massive
noncompliance. China's membership in the WTO could actually
undermine other countries' compliance with WTO rules and weaken the
WTO itself if China's flouting of the rules goes unchecked.
Given China's dismal record of human and workers' rights violations
and noncompliance with market-opening agreements, the prudent course
of action is to withhold permanent NTR until the Chinese government
has demonstrated that it is ready and able to comply with
international standards in these areas.
The United States' leadership in defining new rules for the global
economy is of great importance to working families. I urge you to
vote against legislation granting permanent NTR to China.
Sincerely,
John J. Sweeney
President
AFL-CIO
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