OPENING STATEMENT BY HEARING CO-CHAIR GEORGE BECKER
U.S.-China Commission
Hearing on Bilateral Trade Policies and Issues Between the United States and
China
August 2, 2001
124 Dirksen Senate Office Building
It is my pleasure to be co-chairing today's important hearing on bilateral trade
policies and issues between the United States and China. We will hear testimony
from witnesses representing a broad array of sectors impacted by U.S.-China
trade, as well as from representatives of the Administration. These witnesses
will give us their perspectives on what China's WTO accession means for U.S.
industry and U.S. workers. The topic of this hearing is particularly timely,
so the Commission thanks all our panelists for their appearance here today.
We will begin with a panel focusing on the United States steel industry and
the impact of China on the world steel market. Our panelists for that topic
are Leo Gerard, President of the United Steelworkers of America, an organization
I was honored to lead prior to Mr. Gerard's tenure, and Thomas Usher, Chairman
and CEO of USX Corporation.
We then have a panel to discuss the important question of China's accession
to the World Trade Organization and viewpoints on China's compliance with agreements
in both the bilateral and multilateral contexts. Peter Davidson, General Counsel
to the United States Trade Representative, Charles Winwood, Acting Commissioner
at the United States Customs Service and Donald Shruhan, Deputy Assistant Commissioner
for International Affairs will present the Administration's perspectives. Gordon
Chang, a lawyer with many years experience in China and author of the book The
Coming Collapse of China, just published yesterday, will share his views from
the private sector.
We will address the impact of China as an emerging influence on the aircraft,
aerospace and automobile industries in the last panel this morning. General
John Douglass, President and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, Robert
Thayer, General Vice President of the International Association of Machinists
and Aerospace Workers, and Steve Beckman, Assistant Director of the Government
and International Affairs Department at the United Auto Workers, will discuss
the challenges and possibilities posed by China's growing role in these industries.
In the afternoon, we begin with a panel looking at the agriculture sector and
the views of China from our farming community. On that panel we have Robbin
Johnson, Vice President for Corporate Affairs at Cargill, Henry Jo Von Tunglein,
Vice Chairman at the National Association of Wheat Growers, Dwain Ford, First
Vice President of the American Soybean Association and Chuck Lambert, Chief
Economist at the National Cattleman's Beef Association.
We will conclude today's hearing with a discussion of U.S.-China trade in the
computer electronics and telecommunications sectors. Ed Fire, President of the
International Union of Electrical Workers, and David McCurdy, President of the
Electronics Industry Alliance, will testify on the specific issues raised by
trade in these industries. Merritt Todd Cooke, Commercial Section Chief at the
American Institute in Taiwan, will testify on the state of these industries
in the context of the U.S.-China-Taiwan relationship.
We obviously have a lot of ground to cover. The Commission again thanks our
panelists for coming today and sharing their views.