A group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers will today revive a bill that threatens to raise tariffs on Chinese goods to punish the country for what they call “currency manipulation”.
In a sign of the undertow of protectionist sentiment in some parts of Congress, the bill would allow companies to apply for tariffs on imports from countries deemed to be keeping their currencies at an artificially low value to increase competitiveness. China is its main target.
“By illegally subsidising its exports through the undervaluation of its currency by 30 per cent or more, China distorts the gains from trade, creates barriers to free and fair trade, harms US industries and has destroyed millions of US jobs,” the congressmen sponsoring the bill said in a joint statement.