May 20, 2007

Chairman Dodd and Ranking Member Shelby: Dialogue Plus Action Needed for U.S-China Economic Relations

Washington, D.C. -- Senator Chris Dodd, D-Conn., Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and Senator Richard Shelby, R-Ala., ranking member of the Committee, yesterday wrote to Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson emphasizing the need to eliminate China's unfair trade practices through both dialogue and action. China’s ongoing intervention to keep the yuan undervalued and discriminatory treatment of foreign financial services firms have contributed to the loss of approximately three million manufacturing jobs and to the record high U.S. trade deficit. “For too long, China’s unfair currency and market access policies have damaged the competitive position of American businesses and workers,” wrote Dodd and Shelby in the letter to Paulson. “We ask that you use all tools available to the Department of the Treasury to eliminate the unfair trade advantage resulting from China’s currency and discriminatory market access policies. Should you find that Treasury’s existing authority is insufficient to eliminate these unfair trade practices, we expect that you will communicate to the Senate Banking Committee any legislative options that may be necessary for improving our nation’s ability to ensure a level playing field for U.S. firms and workers.” Dodd chaired a hearing on Chinese currency in January.
Click here for the full text of the letter.