Interviews
NCTO applauds Levin for holding hearing on Chinese Currency Practices
25 Mar '10
3 min read
The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) applauded Chairman Sander Levin (D-MI) for increasing pressure on the Chinese Government by examining the exchange rate policy of the People's Republic of China and the damage it has inflicted on the U.S. and global economy during a full committee hearing.
Leading economists have long argued that China keeps the yuan artificially low in order to promote a mercantilist export strategy. At a conference held this month by the Economic Policy Institute, three prominent economists agreed that approximately 1.5 million jobs would return to U.S. soil if China stopped manipulating its currency. The EPI also found in a recently published report that 2.4 million jobs were lost to China between 2001 and 2008. “We thank Chairman Levin who joins a loud chorus of Congressional lawmakers who have recently expressed grave concerns with China's predatory currency practices and their impact on U.S. jobs,” said Cass Johnson, President of NCTO.
Johnson noted that, “China's currency policy does nothing more than flood the markets of countries like the United States with artificially cheap imports creating dangerous trade deficits, surging overseas debt, massive job losses, and the continuing erosion of the U.S. manufacturing base and its high wage workforce. The United States manufacturing complex and the U.S. economy cannot return to health while China keeps bleeding away our jobs and capital through its predatory actions.”
U.S. government statistics show that since 2004, China's textile and apparel exports have increased by $17.2 billion and while the U.S. textile sector shed 275,000 jobs. Since the final China textile safeguards were eliminated on January 1, 2009, China's textile and apparel imports have increased an average of 75 percent in the safeguard categories. The Ways and Means hearing comes in the wake of significant Congressional activity highlighting currency manipulation. Last week Reps.
Michaud (D-ME) and Ryan (D-OH) sent a letter with 130 members of congress to the Treasury and Commerce Secretaries calling for application of countervailing duty laws to foreign governments that manipulate its currency to gain export advantages. Additionally,Senators Schumer (D-NY), Stabenow (D-MI), and Graham (R-SC) introduced S.3134, the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Act of 2010. S.3134 is intended to reform and enhance the U.S. government's oversight of foreign government currency practices. NCTO strongly supports these bipartisan activities as well as H.R. 2378 and S. 1027, the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act.
The Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act would give U.S. companies the ability to defend themselves against Chinese currency manipulation by placing countervailing duties equal to the Chinese manipulation on imports of certain goods from China.
NCTO looks forward to working with Chairman Levin and members of the House Ways and Means Committee to take steps that will require China to revalue its exchange rates.
Leading economists have long argued that China keeps the yuan artificially low in order to promote a mercantilist export strategy. At a conference held this month by the Economic Policy Institute, three prominent economists agreed that approximately 1.5 million jobs would return to U.S. soil if China stopped manipulating its currency. The EPI also found in a recently published report that 2.4 million jobs were lost to China between 2001 and 2008. “We thank Chairman Levin who joins a loud chorus of Congressional lawmakers who have recently expressed grave concerns with China's predatory currency practices and their impact on U.S. jobs,” said Cass Johnson, President of NCTO.
Johnson noted that, “China's currency policy does nothing more than flood the markets of countries like the United States with artificially cheap imports creating dangerous trade deficits, surging overseas debt, massive job losses, and the continuing erosion of the U.S. manufacturing base and its high wage workforce. The United States manufacturing complex and the U.S. economy cannot return to health while China keeps bleeding away our jobs and capital through its predatory actions.”
U.S. government statistics show that since 2004, China's textile and apparel exports have increased by $17.2 billion and while the U.S. textile sector shed 275,000 jobs. Since the final China textile safeguards were eliminated on January 1, 2009, China's textile and apparel imports have increased an average of 75 percent in the safeguard categories. The Ways and Means hearing comes in the wake of significant Congressional activity highlighting currency manipulation. Last week Reps.
Michaud (D-ME) and Ryan (D-OH) sent a letter with 130 members of congress to the Treasury and Commerce Secretaries calling for application of countervailing duty laws to foreign governments that manipulate its currency to gain export advantages. Additionally,Senators Schumer (D-NY), Stabenow (D-MI), and Graham (R-SC) introduced S.3134, the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Act of 2010. S.3134 is intended to reform and enhance the U.S. government's oversight of foreign government currency practices. NCTO strongly supports these bipartisan activities as well as H.R. 2378 and S. 1027, the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act.
The Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act would give U.S. companies the ability to defend themselves against Chinese currency manipulation by placing countervailing duties equal to the Chinese manipulation on imports of certain goods from China.
NCTO looks forward to working with Chairman Levin and members of the House Ways and Means Committee to take steps that will require China to revalue its exchange rates.
National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO)
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