The Currency Battle Continues

By Taylor Garland
Apr 15 2015 |
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) oversee the Senate Finance Committee. | Photo via the Senate Finance Committee.

AAM wants to see a currency provision in TPA.

Update: No draft language on TPA yet, but the Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on "Congress and U.S. Tariff Policy" at 10 am ET on Thursday.

The Senate Finance Committee is expected to release a draft of trade promotion authority (TPA) Wednesday and then quickly take up the bill in committee, with a hearing as early as Thursday.

And as we've noted many, many, many times, here at the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) we want to see a strong enforceable currency provision included in the draft. 

But will there be one? Time will tell.

Currency has been at the front of the trade debate this year. Throughout the TPP negotiations, AAM – and scores of lawmakers, economists, and unions – have called on the Obama administration to include currency disciplines in the agreement. The administration has declined to bring currency to the negotiating table. They state that a trade agreement is not the appropriate mechanism to address this trade barrier.

(It should be noted, that they have failed to utilize already-established mechanisms to do so.)

With Congress expected to debate trade legislation in the coming weeks, The Washington International Trade Association is gathering policy experts to debate this issue.

Our own Scott Paul will join Gov. Matt Blunt, president, of American Automotive Policy Council; Tony Fratto, partner at Hamilton Place Strategies; and Clay Lowery, vice president of Rock Creek Global Advisors on April 22 to battle over the issue.

The U.S. economy would benefit greatly from these policies, especially the manufacturing sector. Ending global currency manipulation could create 5.8 million jobs over the course of three years, about 40 percent in manufacturing.  

As the currency debate progresses, we’ll be sure to keep you updated. In the meantime, make sure to tell Congress to strengthen and enforce our trade laws