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(Washington D.C.)- Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander M. Levin (D-MI) issued the following statement today following an announcement by the Department of Commerce regarding countervailing duty petitions filed by U.S. companies and workers:
“China’s currency has not appreciated significantly since China announced a change in its exchange rate policy in June. China’s undervalued currency contributes to the U.S. trade deficit, which is a drag on U.S. economic growth and job creation. The trade deficit took 3.4 percentage points off GDP growth in the 2nd quarter of 2010, the most since 1947.
“Years of high-level dialogue with China have failed to resolve this issue. And today, the Department of Commerce found that two petitions before it failed to allege facts sufficient to initiate an investigation on whether China’s currency manipulation is a countervailable subsidy. It is important to note that Commerce did not find that currency manipulation cannot be addressed as a countervailable subsidy. That alternative will be reviewed at the Ways and Means Committee hearing on China’s exchange rate policy on September 15, as will other courses of action.”
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