Thomas J. Gibson, President and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute, issued a statement Wednesday regarding the Obama Administration’s announcement Tuesday that it would not label China as a currency manipulator:
“While the US Treasury Department noted ‘serious concern’ in their report yesterday, failing to label China a currency manipulator continues to put the US manufacturing sector at a great disadvantage against our foreign competitors. Our industry can compete with any other in the world, but we cannot compete against governments. The Administration has once again avoided its obligation to demonstrate to China that the US will no longer sit idly by while China continues to utilize unfair, trade-distorting practices, like currency manipulation, to advantage its industry. ”
“The US plays by the rules and adheres to its WTO obligations when some of our trading partners do not. By failing to label China a currency manipulator, the Administration implicitly acquiesces in a trade-distorting practice that aid China’s steel exports to the global market, which is already saturated with significant excess capacity and has resulted in high levels of imports to North America. Since the Administration has once again decided not to act, Congress should take action to pass the bi-partisan currency bill which provides a real solution to this problem. Furthermore, Treasury’s inaction highlights the need for any new trade agreements, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), to have currency disciplines with some real teeth as has been demanded by a majority of the members of both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate.”
AISI previously expressed concern that the US has failed to properly address Japan’s currency manipulation during TPP negotiations, given the historically closed nature of the country’s automotive market, and continues to press for the addition of disciplines against currency manipulation in the TPP.