Max Baucus: “as we begin the debate about whether to grant China Permanent Normal Trade Relations status, PNTR, we need to remind…”

“as we begin the debate about whether to grant China Permanent Normal Trade Relations status, PNTR, we need to remind ourselves what the Senate vote is all about and what it is not about. We are voting on whether American companies, American farmers, American workers, and American consumers will be able to take advantage of the new market opportunities afforded by changes that China will make over the next 5 years once it becomes a member of the World Trade Organization, the WTO. If we grant PNTR, China will have to give Americans all the benefits that we, and other WTO members, successfully negotiated after an arduous 13 years. If we fail to grant China PNTR status, then our Japanese and European competitors will be able to do business in China in ways that will be unavailable to us and at the expense of our exporters, our farmers, our manufacturers, our financial service companies, our Internet companies. During the Senate debate this month, we will hear a lot about other issues, with Senators offering a plethora of amendments. The list will probably include human rights, worker rights, religious freedom, prison labor, Taiwan security, arms proliferation, and export of American jobs, among others. Most, if not all, of these subjects are important. They should be of concern to the United States Senate, and to all Americans.”