China ain't no workers paradise or workers' state, but let's face it, teh AFL-CIO is gonna lose this battle. Then what? After the ineffective strategy of opposing China's entry into WTO (but opposing WTO of course, god forbid we oppose that as a strategy)..., will a strategy that works be considered?
Steve
On Wed, 15 Mar 2000, Tom Lehman wrote:
> Mike--The WTO/China deal shifts power from the Congress to the Executive
> Branch and makes trade relations with China an administrative process.
>
> Ian posted some of the recently released details of the US/China WTO/PNTR
> agreement. Where are the workers rights-human rights clauses and conditions?
> Where are the safety, health and environmental clauses and conditions?
>
> They don't exist.
>
> Tom
>
> Michael Pollak wrote:
>
> > I'm a bit confused. Even if the opponents of Permanent Normal Trade
> > Relations with China won, how would that change anything? Presumably
> > China would still be approved on an annual basis for this year. Once it
> > finishes its negotiations with other WTO members (meaning essentially the
> > EU), it would then apply for membership, which would be automatic. So
> > blocking PNTR wouldn't stop China's accession. And once it was a member,
> > revoking NTR on an annual basis would become a WTO violation, just as it
> > would if we acted unilaterally against any other WTO member.
> >
> > Up until now I thought perhaps the US/China trade agreement was
> > conditional on the US granting PTNR. But yesterday, Shi Guangsheng,
> > China's equivalent of Charlene Barkshefsky, said that even if the US voted
> > down PNTR, China would still apply for WTO membership this year. So
> > what's the point and why are people acting like it's a big deal?
> >
> > Michael
> >
> > __________________________________________________________________________
> > Michael Pollak................New York City..............mpollak at panix.com
>
>