What is Most Favored Nation (MFN) NTR?
Most Favored Nation status allows a country to export its goods to the United States with the lowest possible tariffs. Countries with non-market economies are prohibited from receiving MFN privileges; however, the President of the United States can waive these restrictions for one year if he certifies that a country is not denying its citizens the right or opportunity to emigrate. Since 1980, each U.S. President has renewed China’s MFN status despite evidence that there was not freedom of emigration in China. Since China’s Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, Congress has introduced legislation to condition MFN based on improvement of human rights, unfair trade practices, and weapons proliferation. In 1993, President Clinton granted MFN status to China, but with several conditions that must be met in order for China to receive renewal of its MFN status for the following year. One of these conditions is that China must make significant progress in protecting Tibet’s religious and cultural
