For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 1, 2001
Statement by the President
Renewing Normal Trade Relations Status for China
Earlier today, I informed Congress of my
decision to extend Normal Trade Relations status for China, as every
President has done since 1980. This decision advances the economic and
security interests of the American people and I urge Congress to
support it.
Normal Trade Relations -- a status which
virtually every other country in the world receives from the United
States -- is in the interests of American workers, some 400,000 of whom
are employed in or benefit directly from America's trade with China.
Trade is in the interests of American farmers,
who last year exported more than $3 billion to China and Hong Kong and
who this year should export even more as China removes bans on key
American products like citrus, wheat and meat.
Trade is in the interests of American
business, nearly 80 percent of which are small or medium-sized, which
last year increased their overall exports to China by 24 percent,
making China our 11th largest export market.
Trade is in the interests of American
consumers, especially those who live from paycheck to paycheck and
depend on inexpensive goods from China to enhance their quality of
life.
Fair trade is essential not only to improving
living standards for Americans but also for a strong and productive
relationship with China. Normal Trade Relations status is important if
we are to promote American values of transparency and accountability
and ensure that the Chinese government adheres to the rule of law in
its dealings with its own people as well as with the international
community.
Renewal of Normal Trade Relations also sends a
clear but simple message to the people of China: the United
States is committed to helping China become part of the new
international trading system so that the Chinese people can enjoy the
better life that comes from economic choice and freedom.
The United States has a huge stake in the
emergence of an economically open, politically stable and secure
China. Recent events have shown not only that we need to
speak frankly and directly about our differences, but that we also need
to maintain dialogue and cooperate with one another on those areas
where we have common interests. An important area where the
interests of our two countries converge is in maintaining a healthy
trading relationship. Renewing Normal Trade Relations status
for China will only make those ties stronger.
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