Lawmakers on Friday urged the U.S. and Chinese governments to follow two days of high-level talks on trade and economic concerns with concrete action.
The U.S. trade deficit with China could reach a record $240 billion this year, fueling the belief in Congress that Beijing is deliberately undervaluing its currency by 15 to 40 percent to give Chinese exporters an advantage in world trade.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told reporters the two countries had agreed during the meetings in Beijing to bring more balance to the U.S.-China trade relationship. U.S. officials also told their Chinese counterparts "in the clearest possible terms" that China needs to move toward a more flexible currency exchange rate policy, Paulson said.
But Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat who is one of China's harshest critics in Congress, said he expected Beijing to continue dragging its feet on much-needed reform. Democrats will again ask the U.S. Trade Representative's office to formally challenge China's currency practices at the World Trade Organization even though USTR has rejected that request a number times in the past. Lawmakers will also reintroduce legislation requiring the Commerce Department to consider China's "currency manipulation" as a subsidy under U.S. trade laws so companies can apply for countervailing duties to offset it.
Many U.S. financial services group applauded this week's talks as an important step forward to Chinese reform, but some other industry associations were less impressed. |