U. S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade Meeting

U.S.-CHINA JOINT COMMISSION ON COMMERCE AND TRADE MEETING

Last night the United States and China announced the results of the 17th annual senior-level meeting of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT). Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, with jurisdiction over international trade, made the following comments on the outcome.

"It looks like there were some positive developments at this year's meeting. But lofty statements coming from a meeting don't mean a thing if there isn't follow-through. So the question now is, how long will it take to actually achieve the good objectives, including reopening the Chinese market to U.S. beef? I'll be keeping a very close eye on what happens in the weeks and months ahead."

Grassley and Sen. Max Baucus, ranking member, last month introduced bipartisan legislation that would give the United States more trade enforcement tools to encourage U.S. trading partners to adhere to their trade obligations. The United States Trade Enhancement Act of 2006 has 12 bipartisan co-sponsors.

http://grassley.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=5034&Month=4&Year=2006