Secretary Dan Glickman

While most of the nation enjoys nearly unprecedented prosperity, many of our farmers and ranchers find themselves in a daily struggle for survival. Low prices, recession abroad, and natural disasters have all combined to devastate American agriculture over the last few years. This is a time when we need to pursue every new opportunity available to farmers, especially export opportunities.

Against this backdrop, Congress is preparing to decide whether to grant China Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR), a designation that would allow the United States to enjoy the benefits of China’s prospective membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO).

China is home to one out of every five people on earth. Its economy is growing at a 7 percent annual clip. But a relatively closed Chinese market means that our farmers are not able to tap into the full strength of that consumer power.

During the last fiscal year, in fact, every man, woman, and child in China consumed less than a single dollar’s worth of American agricultural goods. That is compared to $22 a person in the European Union and $92 a person in Japan. The entire U.S.-China trade relationship is wildly out of balance, with China selling us five times more in total goods and services than we sell them.

In joining the WTO, however, the Chinese would agree to abide by the accepted rules of international trade. They would eliminate government export subsidies, which give their farmers an unfair advantage in the global marketplace. They would cut tariffs dramatically; in many cases, their tariffs would be lower than those assessed by our traditional trading partners.

All told, by 2005, China’s membership in the WTO could mean an additional $2 billion a year in U.S. farm exports.

The first question many Americans ask when our trade negotiators bring home a new agreement is: “What did we give up?” In the case of the China-WTO deal, the answer in this case is: “Absolutely nothing.”

Unlike NAFTA, for example, where we had to give in order to get, all the concessions here are on the Chinese side. All the benefits are on ours. We have nothing to lose by passing PNTR or by bringing China into the WTO.

Perhaps more importantly, we have everything to lose by rejecting it. A no vote on PNTR is a vote for a kind of unilateral economic disarmament. American farmers and workers would lose the opportunity for increased sales and potential new jobs, while our competitors in the European Union, Canada, Australia, Japan, Latin America, and elsewhere fill those orders.

Increased trade with China does not mean acceptance of its governing regime and political philosophy. But by bringing them into the global economic community and exposing them to our values, we can influence them. If we help China become a more open economy, eventually they will become a more open society.

There is more at stake here than dollars and cents. We cannot call ourselves the world’s only superpower if we disengage from the world’s most populous nation just as it is preparing to institute wholesale political, economic, and social reforms. Also, China is a nuclear power that holds the key to peace and stability in Asia. It is absolute folly to isolate ourselves from such an emerging global power. For our national security as well as our economic security, we must engage China.

The decision about PNTR may be the biggest test yet of our nation’s commitment both to the global economy and to global security in the 21^st century. It is imperative that we pass the test by passing PNTR. 

Inside the "USDA NEWS" News and Current Information	Past Issues USDA's ...Homepage