Schumer: Bill On Chinese Currency Might Be Delayed….

Navigation: Main page

Author: Vaughan, Martin

Trade

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., signaled today he might agree to postpone for a third time a vote on legislation that would impose import tariffs on Chinese goods if China does not re-value its currency, saying he was encouraged by meetings with Chinese officials this week. "Our discussions are positive. I feel considerably better about this today than I did when we left on Saturday," Schumer told reporters in a conference call from Beijing. Nevertheless, Schumer said he and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., his co-sponsor on the tariff bill, have not made a final decision to forgo their right to a vote on the bill next week. The two secured a commitment from Majority Leader Frist for a vote on the bill by March 31. "We will have to make a decision next week whether to delay our vote a short period of time or a long period of time. We might say let's do it in a month, two months or three months. Right now, the vote is still scheduled for March 31 and we haven't changed that," Schumer said. He added that he wanted to consult with other bill co-sponsors and Treasury Secretary Snow before making that decision.

Schumer said after meetings with high-level Chinese officials, including Vice Premier Wu Yi, he is now optimistic that the yuan will continue to rise against the dollar, and suggested he might have misjudged the Chinese. "A rise in the currency makes sense from both countries' point of view," said Schumer. "The surprise to us is that the Chinese realize this. We don't think this is lip service." Last July, the Chinese government permitted a revaluation of the yuan of 2.1 percent, and held out the promise of smaller, intermittent adjustments to come. But those have been slow to materialize until recent weeks, during which the yuan has appreciated by about another 1 percent. Schumer said Chinese officials generally acknowledged it would be better if Chinese, particularly those in rural Western China, consumed more and if Americans saved more to help level the U.S.-China trade imbalance.

Critics of China's currency practices, including Schumer, have charged that Beijing keeps the yuan undervalued by as much as 30-35 percent, which has the effect of keeping Chinese exports to the United States cheap and making U.S. goods more pricey to Chinese consumers. Schumer said he expected a Treasury report on global currency, due by April 30, to name China as a currency manipulator. He also said he would look to the April visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao for more signs of China's intent to gradually allow the market to govern exchange rates. Schumer said the China trip was the first time he had taken part in an official codel during his 26 years in Congress.

~~~~~~~~

By Martin Vaughan