China continues intervening in international currency markets and utilizing other strategies to keep their currency artificially low. Jacob Lew, our new Treasury Secretary, just met with newly appointed Chinese President Xi Jinping. The public reporting I’ve seen so far does not indicate that currency misalignment was discussed.
Jacob Lew
Has the Administration abandoned the pretense of pushing the Chinese to revalue their currency? Bush II and Hank Paulson engaged the Chinese in the fruitless “Strategic Economic Dialogue” on this point. Obama and Geithner continued it.
While negotiations without leverage have failed, we certainly don’t want an even lower Administration priority for the issue. This highlights the need for legislation to neutralize foreign currency cheating which makes our exports more expensive and makes imports artificially cheap… currency of foreign government policies.
Congressmen Sander Levin, Tim Murphy, Tim Ryan and Mo Brooks are filing the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act today. It is the same bill as last year. We need to push for passage.
Currency cheating is a violation of international law. But there is no remedy. It’s as if theft was declared illegal, but there was no mechanism to penalize thieves. The Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act would provide a remedy.
I can only hope and pray that the Obama Adminisration and Treasury Sec Jacob lew have the guts to do and follow through for what is right for the American people. If they fail we all will continue to suffer the economic depression and job loss to China will expand. We must take a stand and the only fear is doing nothing and fear itself…Please tell all your friends ,associates,neighbors and comrades to help pass the all important Currency Reform for Balanced Trade Act of 2013…We need this Now!
According to other reports, currency was one of four issues that Lew and Xi discussed. That’s not new nor is it encouraging. Until and unless the US administration is willing to exercise its legal rights to the fullest, currency manipulators will not desist and the entire global economy remains in peril. Obama has taken such a lame approach to this problem that one wishes George Bush and John Snow were back. William Ryan has the right idea: urge every elected official to cosponsor H.R. 1276, bring it to a vote, and Everything else is just talk.closely monitor its implementation.
I am glad this issue is being addressed. It will not solve the imbalance of trade as it is but one part of the problem. There are other tools in the tool chest that can be used to capture economic activity so currency manipulation is not the only thing they should address. We need a comprehensive approach, not a piecemeal approach and an approach that is judged by the outcomes, not just the change in one symptom.