Senate bill 1619, the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act of 2011, passed Tuesday, and immediately received support from the US steel industry. The bill provides sanctions on China or any other nation that manipulates its currency. The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that "The Senate took decisive action and passed this legislation which is an effective, measured, and WTO-consistent remedy that will save jobs in industries injured by unfair trade practices. The House of Representatives passed similar legislation last September with bipartisan support and should do so once again."
Nucor Corporation's Chairman and CEO, Dan DiMicco was also pleased with the decision, indicating in a press release, "This legislation is exactly the kind of strong action our government needs to take in order to challenge China's abusive trade tactics. The members of the Senate from both parties who voted for this bill have sent a strong signal to unemployed Americans that they are working to improve conditions for job creation. We have lost millions of manufacturing jobs because we have failed to hold China accountable for its protectionist trade practices. Now the House needs to pass this bill, as it did overwhelmingly last year, in order to restore fair competition in our global trading system."