The U.S. Senate's delay in voting on a key China trade bill has some Japanese officials fretting about whether it will kill the chances — if any — of a breakthrough at the Group of Eight summit in Okinawa toward launching a new round of global trade negotiations.
The bill, which would grant China permanent normal trade relations as part of its bid to join the World Trade Organization, was already passed by the House of Representatives on May 24, despite stiff opposition from labor unions and human-rights advocates.
The China trade bill's passage itself is virtually assured in the Senate. But although the Senate was initially expected to vote on the bill by the end of this month, it has been delayed, possibly until after the G8 summit, partly because annual spending bills took priority.