©2008WorldPolicyInstitute 19 On September 6, 2007, U.S. President GeorgeW.Bushacceptedaninvitationfrom China’sPresidentHuJintaotoattendthe 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing. China is both the world’s leading manufacturing na- tionandanauthoritarianstateruledbythe CommunistParty.ThusBush’stripsymbol- izesfarmorethanjustasports-mindedpres- ident attending his final Olympics as presi- dent.Astourismisanexport,Busheffec- tively is trading with China. Some watchdog groups and scholars, pointingtoChina’sjailingofhumanrights activists; denial of religious freedom; under- mining of civil, political, and labor rights of itsownpeople;andsupportofotherrepres- sive regimes, 1 wantBushtoboycottthe Olympicsortousethatopportunitytopress China’sleaderstochangetheirbehavior. 2 They note that the United States boycotted the1980MoscowOlympicstoprotestthe Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. 3 However, despite mounting pressure on Bush to make his Olympic travel contingent on China’s human rights performance, the president has not budged. 4 HebelievesthatChina’s human rights performance is not a “trade” issue. 5 YetBush’svisittoChinaraisesques- tionsaboutwhenandhowWashington should link its trade policies and human rights objectives. Those questions go far be- yondjusttheBeijingOlympics,andtothe heartofhowU.S.tradepolicyis—orshould be—made. With the U.S. presidential cam- paign well underway, those questions ought tobesomethingthatallthecandidatesare considering in a coherent fashion, yet to datethatisnotthecase. PresidentBushisnottheonlypresi- dent,noreventhefirstone,tofavortrade expansion over human rights protection. His administration, however, shifted trade rhetoric and trade strategy in important ways. Bush has both elevated and simplified the trade-human rights relationship, argu- ing that trade inherently promotes human rights. The president has stressed that “free trade brings greater political and personal freedom,” so when the United States ships goods, it is functionally “exporting free- dom.” 6 Thatview,however,hasnotstopped him from using, and expanding, trade sanc- tions against Cuba, Myanmar, and Zimbab- we,aswellasthenationsinhis“Axisof Evil.” Bush’s trade representative, Robert Zoellick(nowpresidentoftheWorldBank), negotiated trade agreements with many de- veloping countries where the demand for humanrightswasoftennascentandthepro- tectionofhumanrightswasinshortsupply. DuetopressurefromaDemocraticCon- gress, the Bush administration’s bilateral trade agreements included more provisions promoting human rights—in the areas of la- bor rights, political participation, the right to information, and due process—than even before. 7 ButBushdidnothaveaconsistent strategy for linking trade and human rights; or for using incentives or sanctions, or other disincentives. Moreover, by not focusing on Susan Ariel Aaronson is Research Associate Professor of International Affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs and the Graduate School of Business at George Washington University. Her most recent book, co-authored with Jamie M. Zimmerman, is TradeImbalance:TheStruggletoWeighHumanRightsConcernsinTradePolicymaking. OnRightingTrade Human Rights and the 2008 Elections Susan Ariel Aaronson Winter 07:Winter 04.qxd 2/19/2008 6:23 PM Page 19