Mark Dayton: “On the European side, the attractions of tapping China's defense market are significant: China is the world's largest…”

“On the European side, the attractions of tapping China's defense market are significant: China is the world's largest importer of defense equipment ($3.6 billion worth in 2002), and . . . France and Germany in particular are pushing to lift the arms embargo; France because the government is under pressure from its defense industry to resume arms sales; and Germany because it wants to maintain its currently good and close relationship with Beijing. Opponents to lifting the ban include, most vociferously, the USA. . . . Richard Fisher, from the Jamestown Foundation, told [Janes Intelligence Review]: ``The real impact of a deep and wide EU-PLA [People's Liberation Army]-- The army of China, the People's Republic of China-- military alliance will fall on the USA, in terms of accelerating a military-technical arms race that will burden U.S. taxpayers and place ever greater pressure on the U.S. political/military alliance system in Asia.'' Who are these countries protecting or helping in this language I want to strike out of this bill that have these offsetting reciprocal agreements with the United States? They include Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland--all European Union countries. Others that are also exempt by other features include France, Italy, and Luxembourg--all European Union countries.”