Washington, DC, March 29, 2006--The National Association of Manufacturers has commended Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Finance Committee for the bill they introduced today, focusing attention on currency manipulation by America’s trading partners and the need to enforce trade laws.
“Senators Grassley and Baucus rightly perceive a sense among Americans that our trading partners--particularly China--are not playing by the rules, and that the U.S. Government needs to do more about it,” began NAM President John Engler. “Their bill seeks to strengthen the Administration’s ability to deal with a variety of these problems, and we will carefully study the proposals.
“The bill seeks to boost trade enforcement, including the need for close interagency cooperation, and that’s a good thing,” continued Engler. But he added that the bill does not address one of the most important trade issues: the application of countervailing duties to offset subsidies in non-market economies such as China.
“Manufacturers are very concerned about enforcement, especially in connection with China,” Engler explained. “So after consulting closely with them, we’ll look forward to working with Senators Grassley and Baucus to obtain the strongest possible trade and currency bill that is consistent with the World Trade Organization.
“Nonetheless, we applaud the bipartisan effort and are pleased that the Senators understand the seriousness of the situation, and that they feel the need for elevating the priority and visibility of currency and enforcement issues,” Engler concluded.
