U.S. House Panel Will Weigh Measure on China’s Yuan as Trade Deficit Grows
The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee said it will meet Sept. 24 to consider legislation to push China to raise the value of its currency.
The committee said today in an e-mailed statement that it will consider a version of a measure that would let companies petition for duties on imports to compensate for what lawmakers, such as Democratic Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio, say is a weak yuan that provides an unfair subsidy to Chinese manufacturers.
“China’s mercantilist exchange rate policy places a drag on U.S. economic growth and job creation,” said committee Chairman Sander Levin of Michigan in the statement. “It is a major distortion in the international marketplace.”
Approval in the Ways and Means Committee would allow the full House of Representatives to vote on the measure next week. The Senate, which is considering similar legislation, hasn’t yet voted on the issue.