by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright May 19, 2000
All Rights Reserved.

roving that money talks, president Clinton bent more congressional arms, pushing hard for passage of the China Trade Bill granting the Asian giant permanent favored nation trade status. With a major arms control agreement going by the boards, sealing the deal with China is Clinton’s best bet for a dramatic legacy. Beating the U.S. to the punch, Europeans already passed similar legislation. With American business solidly behind the administration, president Clinton pressed his case through his emissary, U.S. trade representative Charlene Barshefsky. Talking tough and trying to allay congressional skeptics, Barshefsky warned, "We will relentlessly monitor and enforce China’s compliance." Silencing critics, Barshefsky recommended a 'rapid deployment' team capable of closely monitoring China’s trade pledges and human rights’ activities. So far, all the empty rhetoric hasn’t worked—and no one really expects it to.

       Sounding upbeat to Congress, "This remains a difficult vote for many [House] members. And the situation still remains fluid. But we are very encouraged," said Barshefsky, referring to the improved momentum especially in the House where 70 Democrats and 150 Republicans are leaning towards the administration. Weighing in on the legislation, the Senate Finance Committee voted 18 to 1 to approve the controversial trade legislation officially normalizing economic ties with communist China. Already hopelessly dependent on China’s cheap labor, it’s only natural for the U.S. to formalize its extensive business relationship with Beijing. Today’s China Trade Bill consummates the inevitable. From salad bowls to disk drives, China rescued American and European business from runaway labor costs. Most businesses are more concerned about profit margins than human rights.

       For the nation that built its railroads-among other things—with Coolie labor, few corporations have any problem exploiting China’s most abundant resource—human beings. Sacrificing some American jobs is a small price to pay to assure Wall Street favorable earnings. "You want to make sure that you’re not giving away jobs, that you’re not selling this economy out," said Rep. Karen L. Thurman (D-Fla.), a key member of the House Ways and Means Committee, who insisted on certain guarantees in any final trade pact. Now supporting the China Bill, Thurman mused that the legislation "was an incredible emotional struggle." Who’s she kidding? Even Rip Van Winkle knows how many low-end manufacturing jobs have been lost over the last 20 years. Pandering to unions doesn’t erase the undeniable reality that cheap foreign labor saved the rear-ends of otherwise unprofitable businesses.

       Since the bloody crackdown at Tian’an Men Square, Congress paid lip service to China’s ubiquitous human rights abuses. When Deng Xiaoping told foreigners to butt out of China’s business, he reminded a watching world that the planet’s most populous country operates under a different set of rules. Lecturing China punishes American businesses by creating more hoops and red-tape. Incendiary rhetoric can only be reserved for countries like Cuba or Iraq whose connection to American business is negligible. "If Congress votes to normalize trade relations with China, it will not guarantee that China will take the right course. But it will certainly increase the likelihood that it will," remarked a wishful president Clinton to graduates of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. Yes, granting most favored nation trade status to China should open new doors. But fostering more dependency on cheap labor gives China even more leverage with which to blackmail the U.S. or its corporate customers.

       What Wall Street wants Wall Street gets. Protesting at this point or adding unenforceable monitoring provisions, makes for high drama during an election year but offers little change from the current laissez faire trade policy. American tobacco and beverage companies are licking their chops at the prospects of satisfying the needs of Chinese consumers. Expanding exports and widdling down the trade imbalance are nice windfalls but pale into insignificance against the boundless opportunity of American business to capitalize on essentially slave labor. Why all the pretense about unenforceable oversight provisions? "China has repeatedly violated every trade agreement it has ever signed with the United States. This plan completely ignores America’s concerns about human rights, democracy, religious freedom and environmental protection in China," said Rep. David E. Bonior (D-Mich.). Surely everyone knows that Bonior is right, but his arguments are falling on deaf ears.

       American consumers pay little attention to Bonior’s concerns. Only a handful of demagogues pandering to certain groups highlight China’s deplorable record on popular buzzwords like 'democracy' and 'human rights.' Wall Street has insatiable expectations for publicly traded corporations to maintain unprecedented profit margins in the face of fierce competition. From screwdrivers to fan belts, American consumers expect quality products at bargain prices. They also want their mutual funds to go up. Domestic labor costs are simply too expensive to satisfy the demands of Wall Street and American consumers. America’s economy is already hooked on China’s irresistible manufacturing climate and there’s no turning back. With or without phony enforcement contingencies, the China Trade Bill benefits all consumers, despite the platitudes about democracy, human rights and American jobs.

       With the Fed Chairman raining on Wall Streets parade, it’s ironic that president Clinton turns to Alan Greenspan to help twist arms in Congress. Clinton’s genius—and muscle—has always been his economic policies, stealing the thunder from his Republican colleagues and beating them at their own game. Even the presumptive Republican nominee George W. Bush can’t take exception to Clinton’s latest political maneuver. Only Al Gore finds himself walking an uneasy tightrope seeking the holy water from organized labor and also crossover voters from America’s mainstream. While there’s no love lost with congressional Republicans, president Clinton double-binded them this time around. Nixon opened the door to China, Reagan dismantled the Iron Curtain, and now Clinton launched the economy to new heights. How can they say no?

About the Author

John M. Curtis is editor of OnlineColumnist.com and columnist for The Los Angeles Daily Journal. He’s director of a Los Angeles think tank specializing in human behavior, health care, political research and media consultation. He’s the author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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