Clinton Urges Senate to Vote on PNTR Bill in September

US President Bill Clinton on Monday urged the Senate to vote on a bill on permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with China in early September.

"It is absolutely imperative that this bill be voted in early September. The longer they take to vote on it, the more likely it could be caught up in procedural wrangling in the Senate," Clinton said, while addressing a seminar on US-Chinese trade in Tampa, Florida.

Saying that passage of the bill was by no means assured, Clinton urged US business leaders to lobby Senate leadership to schedule a vote on the bill as soon as legislators return from recess on September 5.

The PNTR bill won House of Representatives approval in May with 237 votes for and 197 against.



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