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Article: How not to punish China. (Human Rights & Trade) (Column)
- Article from:
- Commonweal
- Article date:
- May 20, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Commonweal Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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If foreign policies had a death wish, the U.S. policy on China enunciated last May could be said to have fulfilled it. It seemed designed to founder. China gained Most Favored Nation (MFN) trade status under President Jimmy Carter. This MFN status, which has been subsequently renewed through the Reagan and Bush administrations, was threatened when President Bill Clinton turned a campaign promise into an executive order that linked its further extension to "overall, significant progress" on human rights in China. No such improvement, no MFN. The State Department's evaluation of such progress, or the lack of it, is scheduled to land on the president's desk on June 3, a date ...