Now that the U.S. Senate has guaranteed permanent normal trade relations for China (Page 1, Sept. 20), U.S. businesses are surely celebrating their greater freedom to operate there. This new commercial reality reinforces the growing need for measures to hold corporations accountable in China and throughout the world.
Many proponents of PNTR have argued that our companies will improve conditions in China by introducing American business practices. This may be so in some cases. But the legislation passed by Congress and the agreement signed with the Chinese government places absolutely no requirements on U.S. corporations to act responsibly once in China. Given the critical state of China’s environment, and the rampant suppression of worker and human rights there, trusting U.S. investors to do the right thing isn’t good enough.
It’s time to export something that truly reflects our values: U.S. right-to-know laws. Citizens in the U.S. and China alike have the right to know the labor, environmental and human-rights records of American businesses that have established operations in China.
