The latest round of talks for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement concluded in Dallas last week.  This was the 12th round of TPP negotiations.

Domestic U.S. maufacturing advocates have been concerned about aspects of the trade agreement and are urging that any negotiations include strong effort to address currency manipulation among the various tradig partners.

This morning, a wide group of manufacturing associations, including the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Geithner and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to urge action on currency manipulation at future TPP talks.

Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) signs joint letter calling for action on currency manipulation in negotiation of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)

Washington, DC.  May 22, 2012.  In an effort to prevent trading partners from manipulating their currency, a broad cross-section of U.S. manufacturers and industrial groups today signed a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk urging them to include rules governing currency manipulation as a key point of any future trade agreements.

Signatories to the letter include trade associations representing American automakers and the auto parts supply chain, steel producers, and other high-tech manufacturers.  The group’s priority is to see that negotiations toward a potential Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) include language to address deliberate currency undervaluation among trading partners.

Manufacturing has been a bright spot for the U.S. economy, gaining 489,000 jobs since January, 2010.  Said Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) Executive Director Scott Paul, “We want to keep this recovery in motion, but nothing can erode the benefits of more open trade, or stop a manufacturing recovery faster, than predatory currency manipulation.  The U.S. should use all possible leverage in the TPP negotiations to ensure that currency issues are strongly and clearly addressed.”

The coalition shares a concern that competitive devaluation of currency can distort world markets and impede open trade.  In their letter, they urge that “strong currency disciplines” be included in all future U.S. free trade agreements to “foster multilateral consensus against the use of currency manipulation to gain an unfair competitive advantage.”

Signatories to the letter include: Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC), American Fiber Manufacturers Association (AFMA), American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), American Mold Builders Association (AMBA), Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT), Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), and Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA).

Click here to read the full letter.