Los Angeles, CA
Despite increased international attention and pressure, the Chinese government has steadfastly refused to end the ongoing and serious violations of human and trade union rights in China.
The AFL-CIO has consistently urged the government of the United States to realize the inadequacy of its policy of engagement with China. American corporations are mounting a massive campaign to once again grant China the same trading status as our most favored trading partners. These companies, and other multinational corporations, do not care about human rights abuses or prison labor. They make millions of dollars by exporting goods from the protected Chinese market to the U.S. using the cheapest and most exploitive labor -- resulting in record U.S. trade deficits.
We oppose extending MFN to China. We urge the Congress to recognize the need to send a strong message to the Chinese government by rejecting MFN extension.
We note the valiant efforts of the Tibetan people to bring attention to the ongoing suppression of Tibet by the Chinese government. We support a call for a boycott of all Chinese-made goods during the month of June -- as a concrete statement of our support for human rights in China, and our call for American corporations to insist on a minimum standard of decency for workers in China.