Politics

2004-03-19T01:31:00.000-08:00

U.S. Files WTO Complaint Against China

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration said Thursday it was filing the first case against China before the World Trade Organization, contending the Chinese are using their tax code to discriminate against American semiconductor manufacturers.

The action, the first targeting China since it joined the WTO in late 2001, is another step in the administration's effort to show it is taking action to deal with America's surging trade deficit with China. That deficit last year hit $124 billion, the largest gap the United States has ever recorded with any nation.

America's rising trade deficits, coming at a time the nation has lost more than 3 million manufacturing jobs, is becoming an issue in the presidential race. Democrat John Kerry has charged that the administration's free trade policies have failed to protect American jobs.

The U.S. complaint, announced by Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, contends that China is violating WTO rules against discriminatory treatment by providing a preferential tax rate for integrated computer circuits produced in China that is much lower than the tax paid by U.S. and other foreign companies.

"U.S. manufacturers of semiconductors and other products have a right to compete on a level playing field with Chinese firms," Zoellick said. "As a WTO member, China must live up to its WTO obligations."

China is a substantial market for U.S. semiconductor producers, with U.S. exports of integrated circuits there totaling $2.02 billion in 2003. However, the U.S. products were subject to a 17 percent value added tax, costing about $344 million, the United States contended in its complaint. China allows its domestic producers to receive a partial refund of the 17 percent tax, the complaint said.

American manufacturers applauded the administration move, saying that the United States needed to show China it was willing to stand up for U.S. companies that want to ship into the world's fastest-growing market without being forced to set up plants in China.

"Hitting U.S. exporters of semiconductor chips with a 17 percent tax while charging only 3 percent for chips that are designed and built in China violates the most basic WTO guarantee of fair treatment for foreign companies," said Jerry Jasinowski, president of the National Association of Manufacturers.

But Democratic critics of the administration's trade policies were not impressed.

"One case brought as a political talking point does not make up for the administration's failure to develop a China trade policy over the past three years while the trade deficit with China has skyrocketed," said Rep. Sander Levin, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means trade subcommittee.

The U.S. notice will begin a 60-day consultation period in which the two countries can seek to resolve the issue through negotiations. If that fails, then the administration can proceed with a case before a WTO dispute panel.

The administration said it brought the case after repeated efforts to resolve the issue through negotiations have failed.

On Tuesday, the AFL-CIO petitioned the administration to start a trade case against China under U.S. law prohibiting unfair trade practices. The labor federation contends that China is violating WTO rules prohibiting violations of workers' rights. The administration has 45 days to decide whether to take that case.

2004-03-11T00:29:00.000-08:00

Kerry blasts 'crooked' Republicans

CHICAGO, Illinois -- Sen. John Kerry, all but officially the Democratic presidential nominee, called Republicans he is battling "crooked" Wednesday.

The comments, caught on tape, came after Kerry addressed the AFL-CIO by satellite. Union workers had been standing behind him. When the satellite feed ended, Kerry spoke briefly with a couple of them.

"Keep smiling," one man said to him.

Kerry responded, "Oh yeah, don't worry man. We're going to keep pounding, let me tell you -- we're just beginning to fight here. These guys are the most crooked, you know, lying group of people I've ever seen."

"It's scary," replied another worker.

The tough words followed Kerry's victories Tuesday night in four more primaries, placing him well on his way to claiming the Democratic presidential nomination this summer.

Bush campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel said Kerry wasn't following his own promise to run a clean campaign, and faulted Democrats for "harsh, angry (and) bitter" comments.

It was not clear whether Kerry knew his microphone was still on. He was speaking quietly, and assistants were removing his microphone as he was speaking.

Afterward, Kerry campaign official David Wade told reporters that Kerry did know his microphone had been on when he was speaking.

Some Republicans have launched the most "crooked, deceitful, personal attacks over the last four years," Wade said, citing what he called attacks on Democratic Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia two years ago and attacks on Sen. John McCain during the race against Bush for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000.

Wade also pointed to a doctored photograph that placed Kerry alongside Jane Fonda during protests of the Vietnam war. That doctored photograph surfaced after an authentic photograph surfaced that showed Kerry sitting several rows behind Fonda at an anti-war rally.

Wade blamed all such incidents on a GOP attack "machine."

Wade emphasized that Kerry was not calling Bush crooked.

"We are going to make it very clear that he's a Democrat who punches back," Wade said of Kerry.

But Stanzel suggested it was the Democrats who lobbed the first salvo.

"Throughout the primary process and obviously now, Democrats have used some of the most harsh, angry, bitter rhetoric that we have seen in our country's history," Stanzel said.

"As always, we indicated that we want this to be about the issues," he added.

Stanzel said that on the night of March 3, when Kerry effectively clinched the nomination, Bush called Kerry and said he looked forward to a spirited race. Kerry replied that he hoped the campaign would stick to the issues but, Stanzel said, "It doesn't seem to me that Senator Kerry is following that statement."

Kerry traveled to Washington after campaigning in Chicago. He met with former rival Howard Dean, part of his bid to unify Democrats in advance of the general election.

2004-03-02T04:36:00.000-08:00

Dems slam White House on Haiti policy

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel of New York said Sunday the United States is just as responsible for President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's ouster as the rebels who forced him from office.

"We are just as much a part of this coup d'etat as the rebels, as the looters, or anyone else," Rangel told ABC's "This Week."

The Bush administration, he said, "made it abundantly clear that Aristide would do best by leaving the country. Which means that the rebels, the looters ... [were] given to believe that they should never, never, never accept Aristide as the president."

Bush's decision Sunday to send U.S. Marines to Haiti hours after Aristide resigned and left the country followed calls from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and complaints from Democrats that Bush waited too long to act.

Gunfire could be heard in Port-au-Prince after Aristide's departure to an unknown destination, and armed gangs surrounded the Haitian presidential palace.

Rangel said the White House should have supported international accords and elections, and made it clear it would not deal with the rebels. He said other countries have learned they can't "depend on the United States to respect the rule of law."

"If there's reason for reform, you demand that reform. But all we had to do was to send 200, 300 troops over there and tell those people to put down the arms," he said.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said she supported the sending of U.S. troops as part of an international peacekeeping force, but that "actions should have been taken to end the violence before it spread to Port-au-Prince."

"Had peacekeepers been sent earlier, a political settlement that better respected the results of the last democratic election with less bloodshed and chaos could have been achieved," Pelosi said in a statement.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said in a statement, "Democracy has a black eye in Haiti this morning."

"By the inaction of the United States government and our allies over the last several years, the democratically elected president of Haiti has been undermined and forced to leave his country," Cummings said.

The caucus is "very concerned" that violence not sweep through the capital of Port-au-Prince and that the democratic process "is not further compromised," he said.

His statement, released before Bush's announcement, called for an international peacekeeping force and for the United States to "take the lead to ensure that democracy is maintained in Haiti, the world's oldest black republic. The CBC will not rest until this crisis is resolved."

In a second statement, the CBC said Cummings and some other group members planned to meet Monday afternoon with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to discuss next steps in Haiti.

Democratic presidential hopefuls Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards, in their final debate before Tuesday's nominating contests in 10 states, similarly slammed the president.

"He's late, as usual," Kerry said. "This president always makes decisions late after things have happened that could have been different had the president made a different decision earlier.

"By giving to the insurgents the power to veto an agreement, they effectively said, 'Unless you two reach an agreement on the sharing of power, we're not going to provide aid and assistance,'" Kerry said.

"So he empowered the insurgents to say, 'No, we're not going to reach agreement.' ... So the result is that you almost inevitably had the clash that you have today."

Edwards said Bush "ignored Haiti the same way he's ignored most of the countries in this hemisphere. ... We should have been engaged over a long period of time, in a serious way, at least through diplomacy, not to allow this to get to a crisis situation where it now is."

Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, took issue with the complaints against the Bush administration.

"I don't think we encouraged this coup," he told "This Week."

"Secretary Powell worked very hard to try to get the political opposition to agree to form a coalition government," said DeWine, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. "Unfortunately, they just did not do it, and here we are today."

He said he agreed that immediate action was necessary.

Rep. Mark Foley, R-Florida, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement, "What we do now will be the difference between life and death in Haiti.

"International peacekeepers will bring stability to Haiti and ensure that a democratic system of government will accurately represent the people. With the removal of Aristide, the prospect of peace is on the horizon."

2004-02-27T00:39:00.000-08:00

Democrats Kerry, Edwards Spar in Debate

LOS ANGELES - Democratic presidential rivals John Kerry and John Edwards sparred over trade, the death penalty and who has the best chance of defeating President Bush in November. But days before a 10-state showdown the two found common ground in opposing gay marriages along with Bush's request to make them unconstitutional.

Edwards had hoped Thursday night's debate would help emphasize differences in an attempt to galvanize support and narrow the large gap with the front-running Kerry.

"I know he's looking for some differences because you need them," Kerry chided Edwards at one point.

Both took nearly identical positions on the gay-marriage issue — voicing personal opposition but saying it should be left for states to decide rather than be banned by a constitutional amendment, as Bush called for this week.

On the day that celebrity Rosie O'Donnell was married in San Francisco to her longtime girlfriend, Kerry and Edwards both sharply criticized Bush's call for a constitutional amendment.

"He's doing this because he's in (political) trouble. ... He's playing politics with the Constitution of the United States," said Kerry. "This is clearly nothing but politics," said Edwards.

Long-shot Al Sharpton, who along with Dennis Kucinich shared the debate stage, accused Bush of "gay baiting. ... The issue is not who you go to bed with. The issue is whether either of you have a job when you get up in the morning."

Both Kerry and Edwards were campaigning Friday in some of the 10 states with Democratic contests on what is known as Super Tuesday. Kerry was giving a speech in Los Angeles on terrorism and national security before a trip to Oakland, Calif. Edwards was headed to St. Paul, Minn., to meet voters.

Together, next week's primaries and caucuses, stretching from New England to California, offer 1,151 delegates — more than half of the 2,162 delegates needed to clinch the nomination.

Kerry went into the debate with 686 delegates in The Associated Press count, compared to 206 for Edwards, and set his sights on securing the nomination Tuesday. Edwards hopes for a comeback to keep his campaign alive.

"Are you ready to go out and do what we have to do next Tuesday?" Kerry told supporters at a party after the debate. "Don't believe the polls. Don't ever let anyone put a label on me."

Kerry was joined by former California Gov. Gray Davis, who announced that he was endorsing his fellow Vietnam veteran. "I am ready to enlist in the Kerry Army," Davis said.

In the debate, Kerry and Edwards sparred over who has the best chance of defeating Bush in the fall.

Asked if Kerry could connect with Americans, Edwards said: "I think it depends on what is happening in the country at the moment. I know I can."

Edwards, as he does repeatedly on the stump, emphasized his humble origins as the son of a textile mill worker tossed out of work when the factory closed, compared to Kerry's relatively affluent upbringing.

"He's a good man ... he'd make a good president. But we come from different places," Edwards said.

In response, Kerry said: "I think John has run a terrific campaign. I appreciate completely where John has come from. I've had experiences that John hasn't had. We all bring to the table our life."

To a question about whether the death penalty was justified for a child killer, Kerry said his instinct "is to want to strangle that person with my own hands." But the former prosecutor said he favors the death penalty only for terrorism cases.

Edwards said some crimes "deserve the ultimate punishment" and cited as an example the killers of James Byrd, a black man who was dragged to death from a pickup truck in 1998 in Texas.

At one point, debate moderator Larry King of CNN asked Kucinich, "Why are you here?"

"I'm offering some substantive change in this country," said Kucinich. He said he did not intend to leave the race.

Edwards conceded Kerry's dominance of the race so far; Kerry has won 18 of the 20 Democratic contests. But Edwards said that in primaries where Republicans and independents can vote, they were voting for him.

Kerry disputed that and noted his wins in Tennessee and Virginia, two Southern states Edwards had hoped to win.

Edwards sought to portray himself as tougher on trade and protecting jobs and suggested that, unlike Kerry, he doesn't take campaign contributions from Washington lobbyists.

Kerry retorted that Edwards "raised almost 50 percent of his money" from one group, fellow trial lawyers. He also disputed any major differences with Edwards on trade.

The debate, held at the University of Southern California and sponsored by the Los Angeles Times and CNN, was the eighth of the year. Unlike the others, the contestants sat elbow-to-elbow along one side of a table, with Kerry and Edwards next to each other.