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: http://www.chinacurrencycoalition.org/. 

China Currency Coalition