Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, let me just be clear to start. China's currency policy is wrong, and it is harmful for the U.S. and for China. But it is one of many problems, a whole host of problems that we have heard about: indigenous innovation, IPR protections, licensing and standards, all of these nontariff barriers that we have heard so much about. So if we're going to look at how we approach this, we have to, A, be consistent with our WTO and other international obligations; and, B, whatever we do has to be effective. Those are the parameters that Secretary Geithner himself laid out. I have questions as to whether this approach will meet either of those. Yes, the bill on its face is WTO compliant. But if we are to implement this connection between countervailing duties and currency valuation, I believe that will be subject to challenge. And I regret that we have not heard from the Department of Commerce, U.S. Trade Rep, Treasury on their read on this. In fact, the administration's not even made a statement with regard to this bill as to the effectiveness or as to whether or not it is consistent with our international obligations. But to a broader point: If we're going to have leverage, we need trade policy, and we do not have a trade policy. Ranking Member Camp has already made the statement that we have had nothing beyond this in the discussions about what are we going to do to really have leverage and to move forward with a trade policy.…”