Washington ~ The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) is pleased to support the “Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act of 2013″ which was introduced today by Senators Brown, Sessions, Schumer, Burr, Stabenow, Collins, Casey and Graham. (Bill Summary, PDF download). The bill will allow U.S. producers to neutralize foreign currency manipulation by categorizing the practice as a countervailable subsidy under U.S. trade laws.
“CPA member companies and organizations are proud to support this bill which targets a global epidemic of exchange rate manipulation to gain a trade advantage,” said Michael Stumo, CEO of CPA. “One third of global GDP is now subject to predatory currency devaluation by many countries. The result has been an addition of $200-500 billion to the U.S. trade deficit, two to five million jobs lost, and four percent depressed growth annually.”
At least 20 countries are using government intervention to devalue their exchange rates to create a competitive advantage. These governments consistently and regularly intervene in foreign exchange markets to achieve their devaluation goals in relation to the dollar, preventing their home currencies from moving to equilibrium. These countries already have a persistent trade surplus and are using currency devaluation to maintain it.
“CPA supports a vigorous effort by America to rid the world of competitive exchange rate devaluation, starting with the unilateral efforts enabled by this Senate bill.” continued Stumo. “Diplomacy or consultations have not only failed, but enabled the acceleration of the problem. Further, our members demand that any future trade agreements include specific standards governing exchange rate manipulation, as well as quick and efficient enforcement mechanisms to provide a fully effective remedy.”
CPA is urging all its members to contact their Senators to encourage their co-sponsorship of the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act of 2013.
The Coalition for a Prosperous America is a nonprofit organization representing the interests of 2.7 million households through our agricultural, manufacturing and labor members.
