Washington, D.C. is currently in a season of intense debate over the renewal of Most-Favored-Nation trading status for China. Both President Clinton, as well the likely Republican presidential candidate, Robert Dole, have expressed their support for unconditional renewal of China's MFN status. However, some Members of Congress are dissatisfied with current U.S. policy towards China, particularly concerning human rights, and favor revoking or conditioning MFN.

President Clinton submitted his formal request in late May to Congress for a renewal of China's MFN status for another year. The renewal will go into effect unless Congress passes a motion of disapproval. Congress has 60 days to pass such a motion.

Since MFN for China became an issue in 1989, ICT has been consistent in its position: while not calling for total revocation, we have supported bills to condition renewal of MFN pending progress on human rights in Tibet and China. Over the years, this position has earned us credibility and receptiveness with policy-makers, both in the Congress and in the Bush and Clinton Administrations. The reason why ICT holds this position on MFN is because of the following: 1) It has been the consistent position of ICT to respect and support the desires of the Tibetan people, as voiced by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile; 2) Supporting complete revocation of MFN would not send a constructive message to China and would not give them a reason to improve their treatment of the Tibetan people.

Motions to revoke MFN have been introduced in both the House and the Senate and therefore in the next couple of weeks, these motions will likely be debated and voted on in both bodies. As the debate intensifies, we will continue to work with offices who will likely be offering alternative measures to total revocation of MFN. We have been in touch with Rep. Ben Gilman's office, who is considering a bill to revoke MFN on products made by People's Liberation Army-owned companies in China. A bill has also been introduced which would condition renewal of MFN on Taiwan's entry into the World Trade Organization. It is possible that amendments on the situation in Tibet could be added to this bill. We intend to support a bill which has the possibility of being approved and which is seen as pragmatic yet also has teeth. Once our friends in Congress have developed a strategy, we will need all of you to weigh in with your Congressional representatives.

In the past two weeks, House and Senate Committees with jurisdiction over China's MFN status have held hearings on different aspects of the MFN debate. These hearings were held by Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee and the Subcommittee on Trade of the House Ways and Means Committee. In a reflection of the importance paid to Tibet, ICT has been invited to testify at each of these hearings. ICT has also been the only witness on these panels which represents people directly affected by Chinese policies; the rest of the outside witnesses have been from labor, business and human rights organizations. In a way, ICT's quiet diplomacy and consistent position on MFN has paid off in that we have come to be regarded as one of the voices of reason in the debate.

This year, we have been advocating our long-standing position during hearings in Congress as well as in our separate meetings with Administration officials. Next week, on June 18th, I will be testifying in yet another hearing on MFN before the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights of the House International Relations Committee.

We have also been mincing no words in conveying our displeasure to senior Administration officials, both at the National Security Council as well as at the State Department, about their China policy, which in our view has been a failure. We have told them in no uncertain terms that their policy has not brought about any relief for the Tibetan people from repressive Chinese practices. They have acknowledged this fact and have expressed willingness to work with us to bring more effective pressure on the Chinese government.

It is likely that National Security Adviser Anthony Lake will visit China soon. Also, Secretary of State Warren Christopher is scheduled to meet the Chinese Foreign Minister in July. We have been assured that the Administration will take up the Tibetan issue during these meetings with Chinese leaders, particularly the current crackdown in Tibet and the continued lack of Chinese response to His Holiness the Dalai Lama's call for unconditional negotiations on the status of Tibet.

I thought I should share this information with fellow supporters for Tibet. There may be some who wish to know ICT's position on MFN and the reasons behind our decision. If you need additional information on the MFN issue, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

Lodi G. Gyari President

June 13, 1996