328 PART FOuR • POliCymAking
Normal Trade
Relations (NTR) Status
A status granted through
an international treaty by
which each member nation
must treat other members
as well as it treats the
country that receives its
most favorable treatment.
This status was formerly
known as most-favored-
nation status.UN Security Council had already voted
three rounds of sanctions against Iran in
reaction to its nuclear program.
By 2012, it was clear that sanctions
against Iran were beginning to dam-
age that country’s economy. Of special
importance was the U.S. campaign to
persuade other nations to stop importing
Iranian oil, which enjoyed increasing suc-
cess. In 2012, it was disclosed that the
United States had successfully destroyed
many of Iran’s nuclear enrichment centri-
fuges by deploying a specially designed
computer virus. Threats that Israel or the
United States might bomb Iran’s nuclear
sites added to the pressure. Is the use
of armed force necessary to stop Iran
from developing nuclear weapons? We
discuss that topic in the At Issue feature
on the facing page.nuclear Proliferation: north korea.
North Korea tested a nuclear device in- An agreement reached in February
2007 provided that North Korea would
start disabling its nuclear facilities and
allow UN inspectors into the country. In
July 2007, North Korea dismantled one of its nuclear reactors and admitted UN inspectors.
By 2009, however, North Korea was pulling back from its treaty obligations. In April,
the country tested a long-range missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. After the
UN Security Council issued a statement condemning the test, North Korea ordered UN
inspectors out of the country, broke off nego tiations, and conducted a second nuclear
test. The United States and other parties have sought to persuade China to take the lead
in bringing North Korea back to the negotiating table—China is the one nation that has
significant economic leverage over North Korea.
Tensions increased in March 2013 after North Korea’s government, under its new dic-
tator, Kim Jong-un, issued a series of provocative statements and gestures. These included
a threat to launch a preemptive nuclear strike against the United States, cutting off the
telephone “hot line” with South Korea, and declaring a “state of war” with South Korea.
Experts were uncertain as to the meaning of these provocations.
The new Power: China
American policy has been to engage the Chinese in diplomatic and economic relationships
in the hope of turning the nation in a more pro-Western direction. An important factor in
U.S.-Chinese relations has been the large and growing trade ties between the two coun-
tries. In 1980, China was granted most-favored-nation status for tariffs and trade policy
on a year-to-year basis. To prevent confusion, in 1998 the status was renamed normal
trade relations (ntr) status. In 2000, Congress approved a permanent grant of NTR
status to China.north korean leader Kim Jong-un and former NBA star Dennis
Rodman watch North Korean and U.S. players in an exhibition basketball game
in North Korea. Rodman was heavily criticized in the United States for this
appearance. Why might he have drawn such a reaction? (AP Photo/VICE Media,
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