Other issues raised in my bill will be dealt with in a three-year investigation that we on the Finance Committee have requested that the General Accounting Office carry out. And that is why I support the President's request for a significant increase in the resources of the Executive Branch to monitor compliance with trade agreements. Today, I would like to mention several issues in the ongoing negotiations in Geneva. In addition to informing my colleagues about these issues, I am also using this opportunity to remind our American negotiators and the Chinese leadership about the importance of resolving these issues properly. WTO Review of Chinese Compliance Section 401 of the bill states that it is the objective of the United States to obtain, in China's protocol of accession, an annual review within the WTO of China's compliance with its terms of accession.
China is a nation where a free market and the rule of law are in the earliest stage of development.
For China's transition to membership in the world trading community to be smooth, China will have to undertake major reforms in many areas, from intellectual property law, to customs procedure, to judicial process. Some of this is underway. It poses a uniquely massive challenge to China and to the world trading community. Some of the issues that come up may be handled through dispute settlement. But the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism has limited resources, and a flood of China cases could overwhelm the system.