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Senior U.S. Officials Again Call for Approval of PNTR with China
U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky Tuesday called on Congress again to grant permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status to China.
The U.S. will gain "enormous commercial advantage" by admitting China into the WTO and granting PNTR to China, Summers said in a testimony at an hearing of the Senate Committee on Banking.
It is also in the national security interests of the United States, he said. "To forgo that opportunity would be a great mistake."
Barshefsky, in her testimony at the same hearing, said that regardless of the Congressional debate on PNTR, China will enter the WTO and continue to export to the U.S.
"The only question before the Congress is whether we will benefit from China's accession -- whether we will benefit from the historic agreement that we negotiated." she said. "Or whether, by rejecting PNTR, our farmers and our workers and our financial services providers cede the China market to our competitors in Europe and Asia and Latin America."
She said that it is "vitally important," in terms of U.S. trade and economic interests, that the country moves forward to grant PNTR to China.
Phil Gramm, chairman of the Senate Committee of Banking, described the vote on normal trade relations with China as "one of the most historic votes cast during the eight years of the Clinton administration."
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