Senators want tough stance against currency manipulation

U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) spearheaded a bipartisan group of legislators this week in urging U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to aggressively address currency issues in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations.

The Senators sent a letter to Froman and Lew requesting an update on the Obama administration’s efforts to address currency issues and reiterated concerns regarding foreign countries devaluing their currency.

“As you know, we have long been concerned about currency issues, which directly impact the competitiveness of workers in our states and across the country,” they wrote. “However, recently China devalued its currency by over 4 percent.”

The letter stated that the Senators fear these recent currency interventions could lead to a pattern of competitive devaluation within the Asia-Pacific Region, which could ultimately damage U.S. workers and exports in the coming years.

“It is extremely important that TPP addresses currency issues in meaningful and concrete ways,” the letter said. “Further, as China’s recent devaluation demonstrated, these interventions can have significant and immediate global economic impacts. Thus, currency issues must be addressed seriously, aggressively, and promptly. We would appreciate your perspective as to the impact these devaluations are having on U.S. workers and your efforts to address them in the continuing TPP negotiations.”

Portman and Brown have continually called for American negotiations regarding the TPP to include strong provisions that address currency manipulation, a practice that hurts U.S. auto exports and workers.

In addition to Portman and Brown, the letter was signed by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Richard Burr (R-NC) and Jeff Sessions (R-AL).