WASHINGTON—The Alliance of American Manufacturing has congratulated a bipartisan group of senators that co-sponsored a bill to address the problem of currency manipulation by America's trading partners.
Introduced Feb. 10, the Currency Undervaluation Investigation Act would require the Commerce Department to treat currency manipulation as an illegal subsidy and impose countervailing duties as applicable.
Co-sponsors include Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.; Richard Burr, R-N.C.; Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.
“Instead of addressing our growing trade deficit, we're pursuing trade deals with countries that manipulate their currency,” said Brown in a news release.
“Foreign companies who don't play by the rules are actively trying to undermine the effectiveness of our trade laws,” Brown said. “It's time to level the playing field for American manufacturers and workers—the most competitive in the world.”
AAM President Scott Paul praised the new bill. “Manufacturing has still only recovered a fraction of the jobs we lost during the Great Recession,” he said. “This bipartisan legislation will help to bring more manufacturing jobs back to our shores.”
Paul accused the Obama administration of trying to “pass the buck” on currency manipulation. The pending Trans-Pacific Partnership, he said, contains no provisions to address currency manipulation by Asian countries.