Rich Neal: “Mr. Speaker, this legislation is about supporting American manufacturing jobs, plain and simple. The Peterson Institute…”

“Mr. Speaker, this legislation is about supporting American manufacturing jobs, plain and simple. The Peterson Institute suggests that this would increase American exports by $100 to $150 billion a year. The Ways and Means Committee held three hearings on this issue which confirmed that China is deliberately intervening in currency markets to continue its unfair advantage over American manufacturers and workers. The committee reported out a bipartisan bill with important changes to make it fully consistent with WTO rules. In short, this bill allows currency manipulation to be considered in trade remedy cases. It is consistent with a free market solution to enabling fair trade. Lawrence Lindsey, who was President George W. Bush's own economic adviser, said, 'The Chinese clearly undervalue their exchange rate. It is the Chinese Government, not markets and not Americans, who are shaping how much is bought and from whom.' This bill is not a solution to all the challenges relating to U.S.-China trade, but it is a significant and much-needed trade remedy tool to help American business and workers compete. New initiatives such as this are needed in response to negotiations that time and again have been stymied in both Democratic and Republican administrations. This is a good step in the right direction.”