WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) issued the following statement
after the House approved H.R. 4444, a bill to grant China Permanent Normal
Trade Relations.
“One
of the more compelling arguments for Permanent Normal Trade Relations is
that it will improve the life of Chinese workers and that U.S. companies
will export higher wages and better working conditions. But a factual
and shocking report says exactly the opposite. The report was prepared
by the National Labor Committee and entitled Made in China: The Role
of U.S. Companies in Denying Human and Worker Rights.
“The
report found that instead U.S. companies are taking advantage of the near
slave labor conditions and wages that persist in Chinese factories.
We should not be surprised. U.S. companies operating in China like
Wal-Mart, half of whose U.S. employees qualify for food stamps, have workers
in China, nearly half of which owe the factory money. They owe the factory
money after working for a month, 12 to 14 hours a day, making Kathie Lee
Gifford handbags
“Proponents
of this proposal dismiss those of us who raise labor and human rights abuses
as isolationist and anti progress. They could not be further from
the truth. We favor establishing rules that protect workers and promote
American ideals.” |