Political Quotes

“Mr. President, 10 years ago this month--10 years ago actually tomorrow, I believe--the People's Republic of China officially joined the World Trade Organization. American businesses, we were told, would gain new access to Chinese markets through the removal of trade barriers, through increased transparency, through more stringent protection of intellectual property rights. China promised to follow the rule of law, to reform its legal system, and, in turn, would gain new access to global markets. At the time of joining the World Trade Organization, China made a number of promises. Chinese leaders pledged to reduce trade barriers and open markets. They promised to increase transparency, protect intellectual property rights, and reform their legal system. Supporters of the People's Republic of China, including a strong majority, unfortunately, of Members of this body and a much thinner majority in the House of Representatives--other supporters of the People's Republic of China were most of America's, almost all of America's largest corporate CEOs--argued that the WTO membership would bring human rights and freedom and the rule of law to China. Now 10 years later we see a very different picture, a picture of a number of Members of the House in those days and some Members of the Senate and some opponents to allowing China into the World Trade Organization. We have seen something very different. American workers have seen millions of jobs shipped to China.…”