China now has normal trade relations subject to annual review.
In the bilateral agreement, China made a number of concessions, agreeing to a significant decrease in tariffs on a wide range of agricultural and industrial products. Tariffs on autos, for example, would fall from the current 80 percent to 100 percent to an average of 25 percent by 2006. The benefits can be large for individual companies, but relative to the huge American economy, it s only a modest plus. The people that stand to benefit the most are large companies. Small businesses account for 96 percent of all U.S. exports and employ 53 percent of the workforce, yet they have no voice in this debate.