U.S. lawmakers urge action on China yuan policy
Members of Congress up ante in push for appreciation
By MarketWatch
Last Update: 9:54 PM ET Mar 15, 2010
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) - A bipartisan group of 130 U.S. lawmakers issued an open letter Monday, calling on the Obama administration to label China a currency manipulator and impose sanctions.
In the letter addressed to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, the Congress members said the yuan was overvalued, resulting in an unfair subsidy for Chinese exporters.
"The impact of China's currency manipulation on the U.S. economy cannot be overstated," the letter said. "U.S. exports to the country cannot compete with the low-priced Chinese equivalents, and domestic American producers are similarly disadvantaged in the face of subsidized Chinese imports."
It called on the administration to include China in its currency manipulation report, due out next month, and urged the Commerce Dept. "to apply the U.S. countervailing duty law in defense of American companies who have suffered as a result of the currency manipulation."
It added that such moves "must be done in concert with intense diplomatic efforts, not only with China but also with the IMF and multi-laterally with other countries." See full text of letter.
One of the letter's authors, Rep. Mike Michaud, D- Maine, said in a statement that the status quo could threaten U.S. businesses and impede recovery in the labor market.
"If the administration fails to act on this issue it will hold back our economic recovery and hurt the ability of American small businesses and manufacturers to increase their production, keep their doors open, and create jobs," Michaud said in a statement on his Web site.
The letter prompted words of support from the top U.S. labor-union grouping, the AFL-CIO. A blog on the AFL-CIO Web site cited Peterson Institute for International Economics director Fred Bergsten as saying the value of the yuan "has cost between 1.5 million and 3 million good American manufacturing jobs."
The remarks from the lawmakers and organized labor were the latest in the run-up to the administration's currency report, due April 15. See full story on U.S. opposition to China's yuan policy.
It also followed comments by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, saying that they yuan isn't undervalued and voicing opposition "to the practice of mutual finger-pointing among countries or taking strong measures to force other countries to appreciate their currencies." See full story on Wen's comments on the yuan.
China has kept the yuan's value steady against the dollar since mid-2008 after a period of slow appreciation, though some economists say that as inflation picks up in China, Beijing may decide to let its currency rise to keep prices from rising too quickly. See story on economists' forecast on when the yuan will appreciate.
Members of Congress up ante in push for appreciation
By MarketWatch
Last Update: 9:54 PM ET Mar 15, 2010
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) - A bipartisan group of 130 U.S. lawmakers issued an open letter Monday, calling on the Obama administration to label China a currency manipulator and impose sanctions.
In the letter addressed to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, the Congress members said the yuan was overvalued, resulting in an unfair subsidy for Chinese exporters.
"The impact of China's currency manipulation on the U.S. economy cannot be overstated," the letter said. "U.S. exports to the country cannot compete with the low-priced Chinese equivalents, and domestic American producers are similarly disadvantaged in the face of subsidized Chinese imports."
It called on the administration to include China in its currency manipulation report, due out next month, and urged the Commerce Dept. "to apply the U.S. countervailing duty law in defense of American companies who have suffered as a result of the currency manipulation."
It added that such moves "must be done in concert with intense diplomatic efforts, not only with China but also with the IMF and multi-laterally with other countries." See full text of letter.
One of the letter's authors, Rep. Mike Michaud, D- Maine, said in a statement that the status quo could threaten U.S. businesses and impede recovery in the labor market.
"If the administration fails to act on this issue it will hold back our economic recovery and hurt the ability of American small businesses and manufacturers to increase their production, keep their doors open, and create jobs," Michaud said in a statement on his Web site.
The letter prompted words of support from the top U.S. labor-union grouping, the AFL-CIO. A blog on the AFL-CIO Web site cited Peterson Institute for International Economics director Fred Bergsten as saying the value of the yuan "has cost between 1.5 million and 3 million good American manufacturing jobs."
The remarks from the lawmakers and organized labor were the latest in the run-up to the administration's currency report, due April 15. See full story on U.S. opposition to China's yuan policy.
It also followed comments by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, saying that they yuan isn't undervalued and voicing opposition "to the practice of mutual finger-pointing among countries or taking strong measures to force other countries to appreciate their currencies." See full story on Wen's comments on the yuan.
China has kept the yuan's value steady against the dollar since mid-2008 after a period of slow appreciation, though some economists say that as inflation picks up in China, Beijing may decide to let its currency rise to keep prices from rising too quickly. See story on economists' forecast on when the yuan will appreciate.