House Votes to Override Bush’s China Trade Veto

The House on Wednesday easily voted to override President Bush’s veto of a bill that would have attached stringent conditions to renewal of China’s most-favored-nation trading status. But the Senate is expected to sustain the veto next week and kill the legislation.

The House voted 357 to 61 to overturn Bush’s veto of a measure that would require China to improve its record on human rights, trade barriers and arms sales to qualify for MFN benefits, which permit it to export goods to the United States at the low tariffs enjoyed by most other countries.

But the vote fell short of the 409-21 margin by which the House passed the legislation last November. In the Senate, where the bill was approved by a 59-39 tally, the President’s supporters said they expect to uphold the veto with at least half a dozen votes to spare.

Congressional sources said a few more Democrats may join opponents of the Bush’s China policy on the override vote. But well-placed Senate aides said “there isn’t a prayer” that the President’s string of 25 vetoes and no overrides will be broken on this bill. It takes a two-thirds vote of both the House and the Senate to override a veto.

Although Bush’s objections to the bill may prevail, Republicans in the House voted by more than 2 to 1 against the Administration position that MFN conditions would lead to a damaging rupture in Sino-American trade relations.

A total of 246 Democrats, 110 GOP lawmakers and one independent voted to override the veto, while 51 Republicans and 10 Democrats lined up with the President on the issue.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who led the fight to override the veto, said the human rights situation has worsened in China and that the country has piled up a $25-billion trade surplus with the United States since the 1989 massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing.

But Bush’s supporters said China has taken steps to improve trading practices and agreed to observe an international accord designed to limit missile transfers abroad.