H.R. 639, the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act
Issues: China Currency
The Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act of 2011 was introduced in February and has more than 218 co-sponsors, a majority of the U.S. House. The measure would rein in China's currency manipulation, which costs one-million plus American jobs, according to numerous economists. China's currency, the RMB, is undervalued by an estimated 28 percent. The manipulation artificially raises the price of U.S. exports to China and suppresses the price of Chinese imports into the United States. It closes opportunities for American business to sell their goods in China while flooding other export markets with cheap goods.
The Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act (H.R. 639) would allow countervailing import duties for U.S. industries that are injured by the undervalued RMB. The Commerce Department, as a result of the legislation, would have the authority to impose import tariffs to offset the negative consequences of China’s undervalued currency. The bill reverses a current Commerce Department practice that has precluded it from treating foreign government currency practices as an export subsidy while also directing the department on how to measure subsidies provided to foreign producers through currency undervaluation.
Read more about the legislation:
OP-ED: Levin in The Hill: Ignoring Chinese currency manipulation costs America jobs (10/4)
FACT SHEET: China's currency manipulation and the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act
DISCHARGE PETITION: Rep. Mark Critz in July introduced a discharge petition to force a vote
H.R. 639: Text of the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act and list of current co-sponsors
Press Release: Bipartisan, Bicameral Group of Lawmakers Call for Action on China Currency Manipulation