Gary Condit: “I rise in opposition to granting Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China. Let me be very clear, I am not opposed to…”

“I rise in opposition to granting Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China. Let me be very clear, I am not opposed to an open trade policy and I am not an isolationist. But, I also do not believe in trade at any price. Our experiences in this body and on this floor with so-called ``free trade'' agreements show they have all come with fairly high price tags. They end up being neither free nor fair. Since 1992, we have entered into four bilateral trade agreements with China. In these agreements, China agreed to open their markets, end exporting products made in forced labor camps, limit quotas on Chinese textiles exports and pledged to protect US patents, trademarks and copyrights for intellectual piracy. Yet, according to annual reports of the United States Trade Representative and the U.S. State Department, China has violated each of these agreements. Is it any wonder our trade deficit with China has grown from $6 billion in 1989 to $70 billion in 1999? In terms of trade alone, there is more than enough reason to merit a ``no'' vote.”