ADVISORY
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

Subcommittee on Trade

Crane Announces Hearing on
Renewal of Normal Trade Relations With China

Congressman Philip M. Crane (R-IL), Chairman, Subcommittee on Trade of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on United States-China trade relations and the status of China's negotiations to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The hearing will take place on Tuesday, July 10, 2001 , in B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 2:00 p.m.

Invited witnesses include Assistant United States Trade Representative, Jeffrey Bader. Testimony will also be received from private sector witnesses.  In addition, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee or for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

At present, China's trade status is subject to the Jackson-Vanik amendment to Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974, the provisions of law governing the most-favored-nation (MFN) trade status, now referred to as normal trade relations (NTR), of nonmarket economy countries ineligible for MFN treatment as of the enactment of the Trade Act.  

NTR status was first granted to the People's Republic of China on February 1, 1980, and has been extended annually since that time. Annual extensions are granted based upon a Presidential determination and report to Congress that such an extension will substantially promote the freedom of emigration objectives in Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974, the so-called Jackson-Vanik amendment. Subsections 402 (a) and (b) of the Trade Act set forth criteria which must be met, or waived by the President, in order for the President to grant NTR status to non-market economies such as China.

The annual Presidential waiver authority under the Trade Act expires on July 3 of each year. The renewal procedure requires the President to submit to Congress a recommendation for a 12-month extension by no later than 30 days prior to the waiver's expiration (i.e., by not later than June 3). The waiver authority continues in effect unless disapproved by Congress within 60 calendar days after the expiration of the existing waiver. Disapproval, should it occur, would take the form of a joint resolution disapproving the President's determination to waive the Jackson-Vanik freedom of emigration requirements for China. On June 1, 2001, President Bush issued his determination to waive the requirements for China for the period of July 3, 2001, to July 2, 2002 (H. Doc. 107-79). H. J. Res. 50, a joint resolution disapproving the extension of the waiver authority contained in section 402(c) of the Trade Act of 1974 with respect to China was introduced by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) on June 5, 2001.  

P.L. 106-286 (enacted October 10, 2000) amended Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 to remove China from the list of countries subject to this provision upon the accession of China to the WTO and upon certification by the President that the final terms of accession are at least equivalent to the terms of the November 15, 1999, bilateral agreement between the United States and China.

On June 8, 2001, during bilateral talks in Shanghai, the United States and China reached agreement on major outstanding issues concerning China's accession to the WTO. United States Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick and Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Shi Guangsheng capped 15 years of negotiations on areas including domestic support for agriculture, services, and trading rights.

Several important steps remain ahead in China's WTO accession process. The bilateral agreement between the United States and China will be considered at the next China Working Party meeting in Geneva beginning on June 28. The WTO's General Council must then adopt China's accession package, after which China will have to complete its domestic ratification procedures. China will become a WTO member 30 days after filing its notice of acceptance with the WTO.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Crane said: "It is indeed heartening for those of us who support normalizing U.S. trade relations with China to observe that China's negotiations to join the WTO are close to concluding. The momentum for opening trade with China is building. Last year, we passed the permanent normal trade relations legislation, and earlier this month, USTR made significant progress with the Chinese to further open their markets to our goods and services. We need to keep the momentum going by renewing China's NTR status for another year."

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The focus of the hearing will be to evaluate overall U.S. trade relations with the People's Republic of China and the status of China's negotiations to join the WTO, and to consider the extension of NTR status for China for an additional year. The Subcommittee will be interested in hearing testimony on China's emigration policies and practices, the nature and extent of U.S. trade and investment ties with China and related issues, and the potential impact on China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States of a termination of China's NTR status. Finally, witnesses may also address U.S. objectives in ongoing negotiations over conditions upon which China will enter the WTO, as well as the anticipated impact of WTO membership on U.S. workers, industries, and other affected parties.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSIONS OF REQUESTS TO BE HEARD:

Requests to be heard at the hearing must be made by telephone to Traci Altman or Bill Covey at (202) 225-1721 no later than the close of business, Friday, June 29, 2001 . The telephone request should be followed by a formal written request to Allison Giles, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. The staff of the Subcommittee on Trade will notify by telephone those scheduled to appear as soon as possible after the filing deadline. Any questions concerning a scheduled appearance should be directed to the Subcommittee on Trade staff at (202) 225-6649.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, the Subcommittee may not be able to accommodate all requests to be heard. Those persons and organizations not scheduled for an oral appearance are encouraged to submit written statements for the record of the hearing. All persons requesting to be heard, whether they are scheduled for oral testimony or not, will be notified as soon as possible after the filing deadline.  

Witnesses scheduled to present oral testimony are required to summarize briefly their written statements in no more than five minutes. THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. The full written statement of each witness will be included in the printed record, in accordance with House Rules.

In order to assure the most productive use of the limited amount of time available to question witnesses, all witnesses scheduled to appear before the Subcommittee are required to submit 200 copies, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, of their prepared statement for review by Members prior to the hearing. Testimony should arrive at the Subcommittee on Trade office, room 1104 Longworth House Office Building, no later than July 5, 2001 . Failure to do so may result in the witness being denied the opportunity to testify in person.

WRITTEN STATEMENTS IN LIEU OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE:

Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Wednesday, July 11 , 2001, to Allison Giles, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Trade office, room 1104 Longworth House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.

4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.

The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at "http://waysandmeans.house.gov".

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.