US Coalition Critical Of White House Policy On China's Subsidized Currency

TRADE WARS

Washington (SPX) Nov 25, 2005
A broad-based coalition committed to supporting U.S. manufacturing by seeking an end to Chinese currency manipulation Friday delivered harsh words critical of the Bush Administration's failure to take action on China's undervalued yuan.

Doug Bartlett, co-chairman of the China Currency Coalition, reacting to Treasury Secretary John W. Snow's remarks that the U.S. should give China a chance to show it will allow the yuan to rise as promised, said, "We have given China enough time. Any future change in China's monetary policy will be too little and too late."

The data reflect no evolution toward greater flexibility since July when China announced with great fanfare that it would no longer peg its currency to the U.S. dollar. "In short, it is business as usual for the Chinese, at the expense of U.S. manufacturers and workers who must compete against China's subsidized currency," stated AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard L. Trumka and coalition co-chairman.

China held its currency rock steady against the U.S. dollar for almost eight years, which has led to a huge increase in China's exports to the U.S. and contributed to the ever-widening bilateral trade deficit. International economic experts suggest that the yuan is undervalued by as much as 40 cents on the dollar.

Snow's comments appeared to signal that the Treasury Department would refrain from branding China a "currency manipulator" in an overdue report on the currency policies of U.S. trading partners.

Doug Bartlett is Chairman of Bartlett Manufacturing Company, Inc., in Cary, Illinois. With $8 million sales and approximately 70 employees, the company has been a pioneer in printed circuit board interconnect services for more than fifty years. In addition to the China Currency Coalition, Bartlett Manufacturing is a member of the United States Business Industry Council (USBIC), an organization formed to champion the interests of America's domestic family-owned and closely-held firms.

Richard Trumka heads the labor federation's Industrial Union Council and is the youngest secretary-treasurer in AFL-CIO history. The AFL-CIO represents national and international labor unions comprising 9.5 million working women and men from every walk of life.

SINO DAILY

US Drops All Quota Decisions On Chinese Textiles

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