US Senate Rejects Amendments to PNTR Bill

US Senate on Tuesday rejected several amendments trying to link the bill granting permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status to China with prison labor and other issues.

During Tuesday's debate, the Senate voted 68-29 to reject an amendment by Democrat Paul Wellstone of Minnesota calling on China to bar the sale of products made by prisoners.

The Senate also rejected by voice vote an amendment by Democrat Robert Byrd of West Virginia requiring China to disclose more information about its subsidies to state-owned enterprises.

Supporters of the PNTR bill are increasingly optimistic that they would be able to defeat all of the proposed amendments to ensure final passage of the trade bill possibly by the end of this month.

Another major hurdle to the passage of the PNTR bill is an amendment proposed Monday by Republican Senator Fred Thompson and Democratic Senator Robert Torricelli.

The bill demanded the US government impose sanctions on foreign companies and nations that are involved in weapons proliferation.

The Thompson amendment is strongly opposed by most senators, the Clinton administration and the business community in the country eager to do business with China.

Democratic Senator Max Baucus, a leading supporter of the PNTR bill, said approval of the Thompson amendment would be a "grave mistake" for the nation.

"It will seriously damage important American economic interests and if added to the bill, it will kill PNTR," he said.

A White House spokesman expressed his confidence Tuesday that the PNTR bill would sail through the Senate as the debate on the bill entered its seventh day.

"We have the votes for the underlying bill to grant China permanent normal trade relations. There's no doubt about that," said White House spokesman Jake Siewert.

"We have close to 70 senators, by all counts, who have publicly expressed their support," he added.

But he warned that senators could still choke the historic bill if they pass any amendment to it.

"The key point for us is that any amendment to this bill, any change to this bill, is a recipe for delay. And delay in an election year leads to all kinds of uncertainty," said Siewert.



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