Hope for China Currency Bill Revived

A United States group of manufacturers had recently urged Congress in Washington last Friday to quicken up the passing of a legislation that will curb Chinese imports. This happened after one member of the team of newly sworn in president Barack H. Obama mentioned that the China as the largest economy in Asia had long been manipulating its own currency. Timothy Geithner, the designated United States Treasury Secretary, said last Thursday that there was a very clear signal to the United States Congress about sending out the new president a message about the tough currency manipulation bill at the time of his first hundred days of office. This was also reflected in a sentiment message proclaimed Kevin Kearns, who is the acting president of the United States Business and Industry Council.

Belief in Manipulation of Chinese Currency

Timothy Geithner also said last Thursday to the Senate Finance Committee that President Barack H. Obama also believes that China really is manipulating its own currency. Geithner, who is held with expectations of winning the Senate  confirmation within the following week, had used a term which was deliberately avoided by the Bush administration. The Commerce Ministry of China had earlier said in a statement which was faxed to the Agence france Presse last Friday that the government of Beijing had not once used any type of manipulation tactics on their currency. This was in defense of some accusations made against their apparently trying to gain a somewhat unfair advantage on trade and even said that it was tantamount of unsubstantiated criticism. Then again, Timothy Geithner’s use of blunt language had also revived some hopes that there will become a bill which President Obama and the United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shall co-sponsor.

Technicalities About Currency Manipulation Bill

Such a proposal would invariably define that currency manipulation will then become a subsidy which shall be under the United States trade law, thereby opening doors for the Department of Commerce to actually impose some countervailing duties based on a wide array of Chinese goods. The group of Kearns will represent primarily some small as well as family-owned manufacturers and thereby lacks some political clout compared to the National Association of Manufacturers. This is because of a split that happened in its membership ranks and is now neutral on the issue of Congress passing out the currency legislation of China. Then again, the Nam had also long urged their Treasury Department to get a move on identifying China to be the currency manipulating state in the upcoming semi-annual report which shall be due on the months of April and October. The statement made by Geithner last Thursday is such that it would be quite difficult for the administration to avoid citing China.