The Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) today praised U.S. Senators Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Richard Burr (R-NC) for their sponsorship of the Currency Undervaluation Investigation Act.
Additionally, AAM praised U.S. Representatives Sander Levin (D-MI), Tim Murphy (R-PA), Tim Ryan (D-OH), and Mo Brooks (R-AL) for their sponsorship of the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act.
AAM supports immediate passage of the bills, which would allow for undervalued currency to be treated as an actionable subsidy under U.S. trade law.
Said AAM President Scott Paul:
Manufacturing has still only recovered a fraction of the jobs we lost during the Great Recession. This bipartisan legislation will help to bring more manufacturing jobs back to our shores. While the Obama administration wants to pass the buck on currency manipulation, we know that only constant, sustained pressure stops trade cheating and currency manipulation in its tracks. That’s why Congress should pass this bill now. We commend the sponsors of the bill and look forward to working with them to see it become law.
Key Points:
- In an editorial published last week in Real Clear Politics, Paul urged the Obama administration to include a rule on currency manipulation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
- Weak yen policies and growing trade deficits with Japan cost nearly 900,000 U.S. jobs in 2013, according to research from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The U.S. trade deficit with Japan and 10 other countries in the TPP – many of whom engage in currency manipulation – was more than $260 billion last year.
- The U.S. trade deficit with China cost 3.2 million manufacturing jobs between 2001 and 2013, according to a recent study by EPI. This trade deficit soared to $342.6 billion in 2014, the highest recorded trade deficit between two countries in history.
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