Senate Panel Raps Treasury Over China Currency.

Senators criticized Treasury Secretary Snow today during a Senate Banking Committee hearing over what they said was the Bush administration's failure to force China to adjust its overvalued currency, the Associated Press reported. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., faulted Treasury's report last week that declined to brand China as a currency manipulator. "China is a manipulator,'' Schumer said. "And the administration is afraid to say so.'' Banking Chairman Shelby said "there is considerable disappointment that once again" Treasury failed to make a currency manipulation determination. Snow responded that while the department report did not find proof of manipulation, "we are extremely dissatisfied with the slow and disappointing pace of reform of the Chinese exchange rate regime." He said imposing trade sanctions against China over its exchange rate would "invite protectionist policies in other parts of the world" and was "clearly the wrong way to go."