Tomorrow, President Barack Obama will meet with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his visit to Washington. The declining value of the Japanese yen is expected to be a key topic of discussion between the two leaders.
The Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) has previously expressed concern regarding Japan’s undervalued currency and, in May 2012, joined a broad cross-section of U.S. manufacturers and industrial groups in pressing the Obama Administration to include rules governing currency manipulation as a key point of future trade agreements.
Specifically, AAM and other trade associations urged that negotiations toward a potential Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) include language to address currency manipulation by Japan and other trading partners.
Said AAM President Scott Paul:
“The Administration’s response to our very serious concerns about Japan’s currency manipulation and potential inclusion in the TPP talks has been completely inadequate.”
Paul added that Japan maintains a very closed market and has a long history of currency manipulation.
“Relying on goodwill and promises will not pass muster. Either binding commitments—subject to a withdrawal of trade benefits—must be included in the TPP, or the agreement should be shelved. It’s not worth sacrificing American jobs and American manufacturing to secure an agreement at any cost.”
CLICK HERE to read the full letter to the Obama Administration regarding currency manipulation, Japan, and the TPP.