Text: Secretary Daley Remarks to House Agriculture Committee
(Commerce Department to stringently monitor China trade)While supporting Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with China, Secretary of Commerce William Daley said he also advocates stringent monitoring of trade agreements with that country.
Speaking to the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee May 17, Daley noted that the Commerce Department already has "an aggressive five-point plan to make sure China lives up to its commitments."
"The main goals are to work closely with U.S. companies to identify and resolve problems early, before they become full-blown disputes, and to help China learn how to make the switch to a market-based economy," he said.
The compliance package "dovetails with the watchdog commission on human rights and labor rights," Daley added.
The Commerce Department, Daley said, will be keeping "a close eye on U.S.-China trade flows." Plans are underway for special programs to watch for surges in imports, including agricultural products, as well as for dumping and subsidy rule violations, he said.
"Finally, we want to help China help itself," the Commerce Secretary said. "We will share our experience in putting WTO [World Trade Organization] legislation into effect, and give technical assistance, which China has requested. Meetings on this begin in the summer."
Following is the text:
(begin text) <
p>ORAL STATEMENT BY
COMMERCE SECRETARY WILLIAM M. DALEY
HOUSE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
MAY 17, 2000[Text as Prepared for Delivery]
Good morning Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, I am delighted to be here with my colleagues this morning.
I know your committee has taken a very active interest in this legislation, and for that I thank you.
Obviously, this is one of the best trade deals that American agriculture has seen in many years -- maybe ever. Having broad access to a new market where 1.3 billion people today spend less than a dollar a year on U.S. ag products, will mean vast opportunity for American farmers and ranchers.
I was in China in early April, just as the first shipments of American citrus arrived in Beijing. And if their popularity is any indication, there is great potential for our exporters when this deal takes effect and China joins the WTO.
I know from my many meetings with members, that most are convinced the China deal makes good economic sense. Not only is it a winner for agriculture, but for many of our leading industries: from high-tech to insurance to telecommunications to transportation and energy.
But a question I hear over and over is: How do we know China will comply with the agreement? Their track record, frankly, is mixed.
But in my opinion, things are very different this time. The Chinese want this deal to go through, because they are in the middle of a dramatic social and economic transformation. And for it to be successful, for reform to work, China must join the outside world.
The Chinese have told us countless times they want the benefits of open markets. And after 14 years of negotiations, they do want to join WTO, and follow the rules. And we have to believe them, and engage China, and hope they make the right choices and take the path of democracy and free markets.
And there are positive signs they are making the right choices. China is in the process of changing their rules and laws. They are retraining state bureaucrats and managers. And they are trying out democracy at the local level.
But there are no guarantees that they will honor our trade deal. To be honest, we would be foolish to think there won't be problems as we go forward, since we have trade disputes with many of our closest trading partners.
The deal with China includes compliance provisions, and there is a WTO mechanism for handling disputes. And we won't hesitate to use these tools when we need them.
But we believe more needs to be done. We need to be pro-active. At the Commerce Department we have an aggressive five-point plan to make sure China lives up to its commitments. It's already in effect, and doesn't require additional resources at this time.
The main goals are to work closely with U.S. companies to identify and resolve problems early, before they become full-blown disputes, and to help China learn how to make the switch to a market-based economy.
Let me say also, that our compliance package dovetails with the watchdog commission on human rights and labor rights, as well as other very helpful enforcement proposals by Reps. Levin and Bereuter. These proposals are absolutely critical, in my opinion, for broadening the base of support for PNTR legislation, which Ways and Means will be considering this afternoon. In fact, without them, the chances of PNTR passing Congress next week are slim to none.
Our Commerce compliance package includes a new rapid response team on China. It will have a dozen compliance and trade specialists. We plan to have a deputy assistant secretary for China running the team, which would be the highest-level Commerce official ever put in charge of enforcing a trade agreement with a single country.
We already have a senior Commerce official on the ground in Beijing. She's been there a week. She has met with a number of U.S. business people, and she's working with the business community on determining their needs and priorities for implementing the new trade deal. I expect her to report back to me after Memorial Day.
By next year, I want to triple our resources for compliance; increase the size of our rapid response team; and permanently station compliance experts in China.
And I want to do the same in Japan and South Korea, as part of a broader effort to beef up enforcement worldwide. We are the biggest trading nation on earth, and we need to make sure the trade deals we make are working as they should.
Obviously, we need Congress' help in getting more resources for this effort. In his budget for next year, the President has requested $22 million for stepped up trade compliance at Commerce, State, USTR, and USDA.
Another key point in our plan explains where the name -- rapid response team -- comes from. We are putting in place tight deadlines, for investigating market access and commercial problems so we can resolve conflicts quickly without getting wrapped up in a lot of bureaucratic red tape.
And we'll be keeping a close eye on U.S.-China trade flows. We will have a special program to watch for surges in imports, including agricultural products.
We'll chart export growth in key sectors to ensure China is opening up its markets as it agreed to. And we'll have special programs for anti-dumping and anti-subsidy rule violations.
Finally, we want to help China help itself. We will share our experience in putting WTO legislation into effect, and give technical assistance, which China has requested. Meetings on this begin in the summer. And last month, when I was in Beijing, we agreed to a comparative law dialogue to help the Chinese conform their laws to the WTO.
I see our compliance effort as good government. Just as businesses are hiring and expanding so they are ready on day one to export to China, government will be ready, also.
As Congress prepares to vote next week on PNTR for China, we should keep in mind what we all know to be true: the world economy has been good for us as a nation. We're the biggest trading nation on earth. Our economy is the strongest, with 21 million new jobs and the longest expansion in our history. Our goal, and the reason to pass PNTR, is to keep our nation strong.
Thank you very much.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
Return to The United States and China.Return to IIP Home Page.