AFL-CIO China complaint
New York Times - June 8, 2006
Bush Urged to Bring Trade Case Vs. China
WASHINGTON (AP) — The AFL-CIO and two members of Congress asked the
Bush administration Thursday to pursue trade sanctions against China,
accusing the Chinese of violating international labor standards and
costing 1.24 million American jobs.
The group alleged that China’s labor practices violate U.S. trade
law, which makes repression of workers’ rights a violation that would
be subject to economic sanctions if the U.S. wins a case on the issue
before the World Trade Organization.
The petition was an effort to turn up the heat on the administration
in an election year over record trade deficits with China, which hit
an all-time high of $202 billion last year.
”Exploitation of human beings through repression of fundamental
rights for economic gain is both morally repugnant and economically
dangerous,” said AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka. ”The
fact is that China is violating international trade law and our
nation is doing nothing about it.”
The petition said China was using child and forced labor and firing,
beating or imprisoning workers who attempt to form unions. These
practices, the petition alleged, keep the wages of Chinese factory
workers as low as 15 cents to 50 cents per hour, a level that
encourages U.S. companies to close factories in this country and move
their production to China.
The AFL-CIO said the violations of worker rights had contributed to
the loss of an estimated 930,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs and 1.24
million total U.S. jobs.
The petition was similar to one the AFL-CIO filed two years ago. That
petition was rejected by the Bush administration, which contended it
could make more progress in pursuing reforms of China’s labor
practices through constructive engagement.
The administration will have 45 days to decide whether to launch an
investigation based on the new petition, but there were no
indications the administration had changed its opposition to pursuing
such an option.
”The administration believes that a strong and growing trade
relationship driven by mutual interests is the best way to encourage
economic, social and political reform in China,” said Stephen
Norton, a spokesman for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Officials at the Chinese Embassy in Washington said they had not seen
a copy of the petition and would have no comment on the allegations.
The AFL-CIO was joined in petitioning for the trade case under a
provision of U.S. law known as Section 301 by Reps. Benjamin Cardin
of Maryland, the top Democrat on trade matters on the Ways and Means
Committee, and Christopher Smith, R-N.J., a strong critic of China’s
human rights record.
”I hope there will be a serious reappraisal by the administration of
our partnership with dictators as a result of this petition,” Smith
said in a statement.
Cardin said the petition documents that ”China persistently and
systematically denies even the most basic rights to its working
people.”