Currency Reform For Fair Trade Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2378, the Currency Reform Fair Trade Act.

First, I want to thank Chairman Levin and his staff for crafting this responsible and much needed WTO compliant legislation.

There is wide agreement that China is deliberately and illegally intervening in global currency markets to benefit its own economy. According to the Peterson Institute of International Economics, because of repeated Chinese government intervention, the RMB is unfairly undervalued by as much as 24 percent against the dollar.

This practice is harming the U.S. economy and weakening our ability to promote economic growth and jobs. Again, according to the Peterson Institute, if the RMB was fairly valued, there would be 500,000 more Americans employed today in good paying manufacturing jobs.

The President's strategy for boosting the economy includes a two year plan to increase manufacturing and expand exports--but increasing exports in a global economy where American goods are artificially more expensive than comparable Chinese goods, is like fighting an uphill battle.

H.R. 2378 will help encourage the Chinese government to do the right thing and float its currency in a wider band. This will help to protect those American businesses and jobs that are being injured by the imbalance.

Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Commerce to view deliberate currency undervaluation as an illegal export subsidy just as the World Trade Organization does. If this bill becomes law, Commerce will have to use the same standard as the WTO when determining whether an illegal export subsidy exists. Commerce will have to weigh all relevant factors, including currency undervaluation, when determining whether to recommend that ``countervailing duties'' be applied against a foreign import.

This bill does not just target China, though China is the leading abuser of this practice. Any country that unfairly and significantly acts to suppress the value of its currency to boost its own exports will be a target.

The President's plan for strengthening the economy includes a vigorous enforcement of our rights in the global trade arena. The WTO says we have a right to respond when our trading partners employ illegal practices that injure our businesses. H.R. 2378 ensures that the Department of Commerce does not overlook or underestimate the impact that currency undervaluation has on American businesses.

I encourage my colleagues to support this measure. It provides one more tool that can be used to protect American companies and the workers they employ in the ongoing push to boost the U.S. economy.

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2378, the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, of which I am also a co-sponsor. For too long, the United States has stood idly by while its trading partners--China, in particular--have manipulated the value of their currencies to gain a competitive advantage. H.R. 2378 will strengthen our country's ability to impose punitive tariffs on currency manipulators and, in so doing, help protect American workers and businesses from this most unfair trade practice.

I wish to thank Congressman Ryan of Ohio for introducing this fine bill. I also commend my good friend and colleague from Michigan, Chairman Sander Levin of the Committee on Ways and Means, for understanding the dire need for this legislation and amending it in such a manner that conforms to the United States' obligations as a member of the World Trade Organization. I hope China will take note of this and adjust its behavior accordingly.

I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 2378 and further call on the United States Senate to pass this bill with all due haste.

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