Schumer to Bring Back China Currency Bill That Passed House in September

Jun. 16 -- Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, is preparing to reintroduce legislation aimed at forcing China to raise the value of its currency, according to a letter he sent to colleagues.

The measure would let U.S. companies petition for duties on imports from China to compensate for the effect of a weak yuan, which lawmakers have said gives Chinese companies an unfair advantage against U.S. manufacturers.

China’s currency “is one of the few issues where you get unanimity across the board” among voters, Senator Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, said today at a news conference. Casey is one of seven senators sponsoring the measure with Schumer, according to the letter.

Schumer proposed similar measures in each of the past six years and none have received an up-or-down vote in the Senate. Brian Fallon, a spokesman for Schumer, didn’t return telephone and e-mail messages.

The House in September passed a parallel measure, which never reached the Senate for a vote. A similar measure on China’s currency was introduced in the House in February with more than 100 sponsors.

China is the biggest foreign investor in U.S. Treasuries, after its holdings rose by $7.6 billion to $1.2 trillion, according to a Treasury Department report today.

China’s yuan traded close to a 17-year high on speculation monetary tightening in the world’s second-biggest economy will lead to higher yields on local assets. The yuan closed at 6.4822 per dollar as of 4:30 p.m. in Shanghai, from 6.4803 yesterday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

China’s currency has appreciated about 5 percent against the dollar in the past year, while remaining “substantially undervalued,” William Cline, a fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, said June 8.

“What’s new is that the seeming efforts of China to start moving” still “doesn’t get the job done,” Cline said in an interview published on the group’s website.