The Bush administration has rejected a petition by the A.F.L.-C.I.O. demanding that China be punished for gaining trade advantages by violating workers? rights. According to the labor organization China violated the rights of its workers by suppressing strikes, banning independent trade unions and not enforcing minimum wage laws. The AFL-CIO would like to see international labor standards enforced as part of trade agreements. The Bush administration felt that the petition would lead to economic isolationism.
See "Bush Rejects Labor's Call to Punish China", Elizabeth Becker, The New York Times, April 28, 2004