Labor & Employment Law

House Acts to Stop Currency Manipulation

By James Parks

The House of Representatives today took a step toward leveling the global trade playing field by passing H.R. 2378, the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act.

Passed by a bipartisan vote of 348-79, including 99 Republicans, the bill gives the U.S. Treasury Department more tools to enforce rules against currency manipulation by our trading partners. The Chinese government keeps its currency low, which artificially reduces the prices of its exports, creates a huge trade deficit for the United States and costs millions of American jobs. The bill now goes to the Senate.

Even though 40 Republicans signed on as co-sponsors, they were split on the currency measure. Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.), the top Republican on the Rules Committee, said he opposed the bill, saying a better step is to approve pending free-trade agreements.

The vote came on the same day that a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows a majority (53 percent) of Americans for first time thinks free-trade agreements hurt the country. That opinion is shared by a wide spectrum of political beliefs with 65 percent of union households and 61 percent of Tea Party supporters saying free trade hurts us. For more on the poll, click here.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on September 29, 2010 (boomark / email).