Max Baucus: “I rise this morning to offer some thoughts on the negotiations towards China's WTO accession, in the aftermath of…”

“I rise this morning to offer some thoughts on the negotiations towards China's WTO accession, in the aftermath of Premier Zhu Rongji's visit to the United States. This, I submit, is a question of fundamental importance to America's trade interests. China is now our fourth largest trading partner--after Canada, Japan, and Mexico--a major market, and the source of our most unbalanced trade relationship in the world. And it is perhaps still more important to America's strategic interests in Asia. Today, I would like to review the progress thus far and its implications for these interests. Let me begin, however, with some context about WTO accessions and the commitments they require. The WTO really began with the creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, otherwise known as the GATT, in 1948. At that time, 23 nations were members. Each of them agreed to a set of tariff cuts and agreed to apply the new tariffs to all other GATT members. This is the famous, or infamous, principle of ``MFN,'' or ``Most Favored Nation.'' Since then, since 1948, 111 other economies--membership is no longer restricted to countries, as Hong Kong and the European Union are now members--have joined to make up today's 134-member WTO.”