- News>
- World
US senate to vote on China trade bill on Tuesday
The US senate will vote on a landmark bill liberalising trade with China on Tuesday, Republican leaders said, as senators quashed a slew of amendments to the bill.
The US senate will vote on a landmark bill liberalising trade with China on Tuesday, Republican leaders said, as senators quashed a slew of amendments to the bill.
It will be on Tuesday, said a spokesman for senate majority leader Trent Lott.
Managers of the legislation on the senate floor meanwhile said debate would go on for several days on more amendments tabled by critics of Beijing.
There is little doubt however, that the legislation will ultimately pass.
The White House has predicted that more than 70 of the 100 senators will back the historic legislation in line with a 1999 deal easing China's entry into the World Trade Organisation.
The bill, granting Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) to China, cleared its most serious obstacle on Wednesday when senators rejected an amendment designed to punish Beijing's alleged sales of arms to US adversaries.
While senate support for PNTR has never been in doubt, the White House and big businesses mounted a huge lobbying campaign to ensure that no amendments were added to the bill passed by the House of Representatives in May.
The house would have to okay any changes, a process supporters of PNTR fear would not be completed by November's elections.
PNTR is a key plank of President Bill Clinton's policy of engagement with China and political legacy as he enters his final few months in office.
Managers of the legislation on the senate floor meanwhile said debate would go on for several days on more amendments tabled by critics of Beijing.
There is little doubt however, that the legislation will ultimately pass.
The White House has predicted that more than 70 of the 100 senators will back the historic legislation in line with a 1999 deal easing China's entry into the World Trade Organisation.
The bill, granting Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) to China, cleared its most serious obstacle on Wednesday when senators rejected an amendment designed to punish Beijing's alleged sales of arms to US adversaries.
While senate support for PNTR has never been in doubt, the White House and big businesses mounted a huge lobbying campaign to ensure that no amendments were added to the bill passed by the House of Representatives in May.
The house would have to okay any changes, a process supporters of PNTR fear would not be completed by November's elections.
PNTR is a key plank of President Bill Clinton's policy of engagement with China and political legacy as he enters his final few months in office.
Bureau Report