One Of Biden’s First Admin Hires Helped Push Through China Trade Bill That Caused ‘Sharp Drop’ In US Jobs

• One of the first officials Joe Biden selected to serve in his White House led the Clinton administration’s charge in 2000 to pass legislation to normalize trade relations with China.
• Biden announced Tuesday that Steve Ricchetti will serve as his White House counselor.
• Ricchetti, who served as Bill Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, was that administration’s liaison to Congress to help pass Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China.
• A Yale study in 2012 found that PNTR caused a “sharp decline” in the number of U.S. manufacturing jobs.
• Bernie Sanders called for repealing the bill in 2005, saying that it had been an “absolute failure.”

One of the first officials President-elect Joe Biden picked to serve in his White House helped spearhead efforts two decades ago to normalize trade relations with China, a move which studies have found led to the loss of millions of manufacturing jobs in the U.S.

Steve Ricchetti will serve as counselor to Biden, the transition team announced on Tuesday. Ricchetti was chief of staff to then-Vice President Biden during the Obama administration, and was deputy chief of staff to President Bill Clinton.

Clinton credited Ricchetti for leading negotiations with Congress in 2000 to pass a bill that established so-called Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) between China and the U.S. The bill also paved the way for China to join the World Trade Organization, which opened the communist regime’s historically closed-off economy to the West.

Ricchetti served as liaison between the Clinton White House and Congress to wrangle votes in support of PNTR, which faced heavy opposition from Democrats.

“This agreement is a good deal for America,” Clinton told reporters on Jan. 10, 2000.

He said that Ricchetti would work closely with then-Secretary of Commerce William Daley to gain legislative support for the measure.

“Our products will gain better access to China’s market in every sector from agriculture to telecommunications to automobiles,” Clinton continued, adding that China would gain...

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