U.S. Dept. of State - IIP: The United States and China

Text: White House List of Democratic Officials Supporting China PNTR
(More than 140 elected officials for China PNTR)
The White House announced the support of more than 140 elected officials from the Democratic Party for granting China Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status May 9 in a White House event featuring President Bill Clinton and other Democratic officeholders from across the nation.
The officials at the White House included California State Senator Jim Costa, President-Elect of the National Conference of State Legislatures; Prince George's County (Maryland) Executive Wayne Curry, Chairman of the National Association of Counties Large Urban County Caucus; and Stamford (Connecticut) Mayor Dan Malloy, Chair of the Democratic Municipal Officials Organization.
All three signed the Democratic Leadership Council's national petition along with more than 140 other elected leaders urging Congress to pass the legislation that would grant China permanent NTR status. Granting China permanent NTR status would require both the Senate and the House of Representatives to vote to end application of Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 to China.
"We have come to Washington, because we believe it is imperative that we show our support for our President and his successful economic policies," Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk said. "Opening China's market is critical to continuing our economic growth," Kirk added. " It is our hope that our perspective will have some influence in Congress."
Following is the text of a press release from the Democratic Leadership Council followed by the letter:
(begin text of press release)
More than 140 Democratic Statewide and Local Officials Sign
DLC Petition in Support of PNTR with China

A group of Democratic statewide and local elected officials met with President Bill Clinton today to demonstrate their support for Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with China and released the Democratic Leadership Council's national petition of more than 140 additional statewide and local leaders urging Congress to pass the pending trade legislation.
Representing the more than 140 Democratic elected officials at the White House were California State Senator Jim Costa, President-Elect of the National Conference of State Legislatures; Prince George's County (MD) Executive Wayne Curry, Chairman of the National Association of Counties Large Urban County Caucus; Stamford (CT) Mayor Dan Malloy, Chair of the Democratic Municipal Officials Organization; Washington State Lt. Gov. Brad Owen; Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk; Florida State Representative Lars Hafner, Democratic Caucus Chair, Florida House; and Florida State Representative Robert Henriquez, Vice Chair elect of the Florida Democratic Party.
The petition, which was drafted by the DLC Project on America, the New Global Economy, & Trade, unites Democratic governors, lt. governors, mayors, state representatives, and county officials from around the country; highlights the local importance of passing PNTR with China; and calls for Democrats in Congress to put aside past conflicts and endorse a 'dual trade strategy' that expands both markets abroad and the winner's circle of those who benefit from trade at home.
"We have come to Washington, because we believe it is imperative that we show our support for our President and his successful economic policies," stated Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk. "Opening China's market is critical to continuing our economic growth. As leaders in the communities being affected by the PNTR vote, it is our hope that our perspective will have some influence in Congress."
From an economic point of view, the deal with China offers a clear-cut opportunity to expand overseas markets for U.S. goods and services now and in the future. Unlike most trade agreements, there are no U.S. concessions to balance Chinese concessions. The current economic boom in this country has been fueled by a policy formula that includes fiscal discipline, support for technology and innovation, investment in our human capital, sound management of the money supply, and access to new markets. Turning back on any of these factors, especially trade, would be dangerous and prevent America from effectively competing within the global economy, the officials stated.
"As state and local officials, we understand that today's strong and stable economy depends on expanding markets around the world for the goods and services our communities produce," the petition reads. "Expanded trade has been a critical component of the unprecedented economic prosperity of the past six years . . . We call on Congress to do its part and approve Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China . . . We call on Democrats to put aside past conflicts over trade and come together on a dual strategy of expanding markets while expanding the 'winner's circle'?to join President Clinton in his campaign to put a human face on the global economy, enabling workers both at home and abroad to improve their lives."
The release of the petition capped a full day of activities on Tuesday for the local elected officials, which included a morning White House event of distinguished leaders who support PNTR with China, lobbying Democratic members of Congress in support of the legislation, and meeting with media to discuss the upcoming vote.
The petition released on Tuesday is one of the many DLC initiatives organized over the last few months in support of PNTR with China.
"The Democratic Party has been the party of free trade throughout American history," DLC President Al From stated. "It is a tradition based on our first principle of equal opportunity for all, special privilege for none. Since the days of President Van Buren, Democrats have fought to lower tariffs because they unfairly favor certain industries, make consumers pay higher prices, limit economic growth, and diminish opportunities for American workers. These local and statewide leaders understand these principles and know first hand the benefits of that trade with China can bring to communities across the country."
(end text of press release)
(begin text of letter)
TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: WE STRONGLY SUPPORT YOUR POLICIES EXPANDING TRADE
As state and local officials, we understand that today's strong and stable economy depends on expanding markets around the world for the goods and services our communities produce. Expanded trade has been a critical component of the unprecedented economic prosperity of the past six years -- a key element of the Clinton Administration's successful economic strategy that has kept growth strong, created 20 million new jobs and held inflation at bay.
We applaud President Clinton's steadfast commitment to U.S. global economic leadership, and his understanding of the need for complementary policies to educate our students and train our workers to make sure everyone can benefit from national economic growth. New opportunities for trade expansion are right on the horizon. The passage of an Africa trade bill in both the House and Senate last year was a positive step in the right direction.
But the immediate challenge is the opportunity created by the Administration's trade negotiators when they carved out an agreement with China that would unilaterally open vast areas of the Chinese market to U.S. exports and investment. This enlarged U.S. access to China's markets is a condition for Chinese membership in the World Trade Organization. In the short run, U.S. farmers, bankers, insurers, and manufacturers of microchips, chemicals, cars, computers, and software will benefit from a whole new level of access to what is potentially the world's largest consumer market. In the long run, the United States will benefit from China's verifiable and enforceable commitment to play by the world's rules.
We call on Congress to do its part and approve permanent Normal Trade Relations with China * nothing more or less than we have granted China on an annual basis for 19 years - and the same status we provide to all 134 other WTO members, and to all but a handful of other countries.
Congress also has the opportunity to strengthen America's hand in the global economy, while spreading the blessings of economic growth, by equipping Americans to succeed with higher educational standards, lifelong skills training opportunities, access to wealth-building assets, and control over such essentials of economic security as pensions and health care.
We call on Democrats to put aside past conflicts over trade and come together on a dual strategy of expanding markets while expanding the "winners' circle" -- to join President Clinton in his campaign to put a human face on the global economy, enabling workers both at home and abroad to improve their lives.
And we call on all Americans to greet global economic change not by futilely fighting it or helplessly accepting it, but by working to shape it in our national interest, and according to our nation's values.
Governors Benjamin Cayetano, HI John Kitzhaber, OR Gary Locke, WA Ronnie Musgrove, MS Pedro Rossello, PR Jeanne Shaheen, NH Don Siegelman, AL
Statewides Michael Fitzgerald, Treasurer, IA Thomas T. Irvin, Com. of Agriculture, GA Patty Judge, Secretary of Agriculture, IA Tom Miller, Attorney General, IA Brad Owen, Lieutenant Governor, WA Kathleen Sebelius, Insurance Com., KS
Mayors Lee Brown, Houston, TX Donald Cunningham, Jr., Bethlehem, PA Gene Eriquez, Danbury, CT John Fernandez, Bloomington, IN Carleton S. Finkbeiner, Toledo, OH Mara S. Giulianti, Hollywood, FL Ron Gonzales, San Jose, CA Patrick Henry Hays, North Little Rock, AR Patsy Jo Hillard, East Point, GA David C. Hollister, Lansing, MI Scott King, Gary, IN Ronald Kirk, Dallas, TX Albert McWilliams, Plainfield, NJ Dannel Malloy, Stamford, CT Marc Morial, New Orleans, LA Lorraine Morton, Evanstown, IL Debra A. Powell, East Saint Louis, IL David Ragucci, Everett, MA Stephen Reed, Harrisburg, PA Joe Rice, Glendale, CO Joseph P. Riley, Jr., Charleston, SC Frank R. Satchel, Jr., Mulberry, FL Woodrow Stanley, Flint, MI Joan Wagnon, Topeka, KS Kirk Watson, Austin, TX Wellington E. Webb, Denver, CO
State Senators Ron Allen, UT Jack A. Brown, AZ Jim Costa, CA Chris Cummiskey, AZ Tom Flynn, IA George Zaven Hart, MI Scott N. Howell, UT Charles Langford, AL Matt McCoy, IA Nathaniel J. McFadden, VA Thomas V. Miller, MD Harry Mitchell, AZ Marc R. Pacheco, MA Elaine Richardson, AZ Rob Smith, MS Clint Stennett, ID Elaine Szymoniak, IA Frank Weddig, CO Joe Young, Jr., MI
State Representatives Lei Ahu Isa, HI Clyde Alexander, TX James F. Almand, VA Elaine Alquist, CA Viola Baskerville, VA Chris Beck, OR Brian Bolduc, ME Talmadge Branch, MD Joe E. Brown, SC Shirley Brown, FL Kathleen H. Chapman, IA Ken Cheuvront, AZ Mary Pearl Compton, VA Ed Crocker, OK Ryan Deckert, OR Dana Lee Dembrow, MD Judy Erwin, IL Ted W. Farnen, MO Dean Florez, CA Kathi Foster, AZ John A. Fritchey, IL Ron Greenstein, FL Daniel Grossman, CO Lars A. Hafner, FL
State Representatives Continued Robert Hagedorn, CO Robert Henriquez, FL Sally A. Heyman, FL Herschella Horton, AZ Evan Jenkins, WV Myra Jones, AR Alex Knopp, CT Annie Kuether, KS Leah Landrum, AZ Ted Lempert, CA Curt Levine, FL Mike Machado, CA Mark Maddox, TN Mark Maiorana, AZ Kerry Mazzoni, CA Dorloes Mertz, IA Lesley Miller, Jr., FL Kenneth Montague, MD Winfield Moses, Jr., IN Richard Myers, IA Andrew Nichols, AZ Debora Norris, AZ Phillip Novak, IL Raymond Peck, MT Wilfred Pierre, LA John Rayson, FL DeeDee Ritchie, FL Amy Robb-Theroux, NH Tim Ryan, FL Kurt Schrader, OR Tracy R. Stafford, FL Gregory Stevens, IA Anthony Suarez, FL Marjorie Turnbull, FL Val Vigil, CO Christine Weason, AZ Doug Wiles, FL Suzanne Williams, CO Sue Windels, CO Philip Wise, IA Jane Wood, NH Brent Yonts, KY
City/County Officials Ben Barnes, Elkhart County, IN Barbra Blanchard, Tompkins County, NY Sara B. Bost, Essex County, NJ Bob Buckhorn, Tampa, FL John Callahan, Bethlehem, PA Roberto Canchola, Santa Cruz County, CA Wayne Curry, Prince George's County, MD James Gregory, Bethlehem, PA Ellen Jaffee, Rockland County, NY Robert Krug, Milwaukee County, WI Duane Little, Soshone County, ID Sharon McDonald, Norfolk, VA Jules Mermelstein, Upper Dublin Township, PA Anthony Petrucci, Dauphin County, PA Eugene Sellers, Lafayette, LA Eleanor Sobel, Hollywood, FL Lawrence Stone, Santa Clara County, CA Edward Szczesniak, Onondaga County NY Charleta Tavares, Colombus, OH
(end text of letter)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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