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AmCham in HK Welcomes NTR Vote Outcome in US Congress
The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (AmCham) Friday welcomed the defeat of a resolution in the US House of Representatives that would have overturned President Bush's June 1 decision to extend Normal Trade Relations (NTR) to China for another year.
"We're pleased that the House Joint Resolution to deny China NTR status, introduced by Representatives Dana Rohrabacher and Sherrod Brown was defeated by 259 to 169 votes," said Frank Martin, AmCham president.
Legislation granting China Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status, signed into law in October 2000 by former President Clinton, was contingent on China's entry to the WTO. As China's current NTR status expired before China's accession, another annual review was necessitated this year.
"Yesterday's vote signified that 60 percent of members of Congress continue to support NTR renewal for China," said Martin.
"With talks on China's WTO accession now in the final stages, this strong bi-partisan House support for NTR will pave the way for the enactment of PNTR legislation immediately upon China's accession," he added.
AmCham has been a leading advocate of stable US-China commercial relations. In May, AmCham was the first business delegation to discuss NTR renewal with policy makers this year.
The NTR vote is also critical for Hong Kong's economic well being. The China's mainland and the United States are Hong Kong's largest trading partners, he said, adding that the Hong Kong's total trade volume with the China's mainland and the United States reached 161 billion U.S. dollars and 61 billion U.S. dollars respectively in 2000.
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