LogFAQs > #973711403

It was the Clinton admin on the way out that opened up China to the WTO.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States%E2%80%93China_Relations_Act_of_2000

"President Bill Clinton in 2000 pushed Congress to approve the U.S.-China trade agreement and China's accession to the WTO,[13] saying that more trade with China would advance America's economic interests: "Economically, this agreement is the equivalent of a one-way street. It requires China to open its marketswith a fifth of the worlds population, potentially the biggest markets in the worldto both our products and services in unprecedented new ways," said Clinton."

"As a new member, China agreed to rapidly lower import tariffs and open its markets, although many trade officials doubted it would stand by those promises.[15] China did cut tariffs after it joined the WTO, but it nonetheless continued to steal U.S. intellectual property (IP) and forced American companies to transfer technology to access the Chinese market, which were violations of WTO rules"

"By 2018, U.S. manufacturing jobs had decreased by almost 5 million since 2000, with the decline accelerating."