China Currency Coalition Applauds Senators Bunning, Stabenow, and Bayh for
Introduction of The China Currency Manipulation Act of 2008
WASHINGTON, April 4, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The China Currency
Coalition ("CCC"), whose members represent a broad cross-section of American
manufacturers, producers, farmers, and unions, today expressed appreciation to
Senators Jim Bunning (R-KY), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Evan Bayh (D-IN) for
co-sponsoring The China Currency Manipulation Act of 2008.
Observed David Hartquist, the coalition's legal counsel, "The CCC is very
grateful to Senators Bunning, Stabenow, and Bayh for reinforcing that the
issue of China's competitive currency depreciation demands action by Congress
and the Administration. This new bill will require the Secretary of the
Treasury to declare under current law that China is manipulating the rate of
exchange between the Yuan and the dollar and to coordinate with Congress and
with the International Monetary Fund on steps to be taken so that China
regularly and promptly adjusts the Yuan-dollar rate of exchange."
Continued Hartquist, "For far too long, China has engaged in protracted
large-scale intervention in currency markets. As the Bunning-Stabenow-Bayh
bill underscores, this results in subsidized Chinese-made products and has
erected a formidable non-tariff barrier to exports from the United States to
China. It prevents effective balance-of-payment adjustments and generates an
unfair competitive advantage that has enabled China to accumulate a current
account surplus with the United States of nearly $1.2 trillion since the
beginning of 2000. It is critical that the hybrid, monetary-trade nature of
China's policy be recognized and addressed. The China Currency Manipulation
Act of 2008 and S. 796, The Fair Currency Act of 2007, also co- sponsored by
Senators Bunning, Stabenow, and Bayh, as well as by Senator Olympia Snowe (R-
ME) and Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), do just that. The United States and its
workers, companies, and farmers need China to play by the international trade
and monetary rules of the road, which China is obligated to follow under
international law."
The China Currency Coalition is co-chaired by Richard L. Trumka,
Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, and by Doug Bartlett, owner of Bartlett
Manufacturing Company, Inc., in Cary, Illinois, and Chairman of the U.S.
Business and Industry Council. David A. Hartquist is Senior Partner and
Chairman of the International Trade Practice Group at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
in Washington, D.C.
About the China Currency Coalition
The China Currency Coalition is an alliance of industry, agriculture,
services, and worker organizations whose mission is to support U.S.
manufacturing and production by seeking an end to Chinese currency
undervaluation. Additional information on the coalition can be found on its
Web site: www.chinacurrencycoalition.org.
SOURCE China Currency Coalition
Skip Hartquist, +1-202-342-8450, dhartquist@kelleydrye.com, or Angela Brown,
+1-202-342-8644, angela.brown@sightlinemarketing.com, both for the China
Currency Coalition
