II 109th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 984 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 10, 2005 Ms. Snowe introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To amend the Exchange Rates and International Economic Policy Coordination Act of 1988 to clarify the definition of manipulation with respect to currency, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Fair Currency Practices Act of 2005.

2.

Amendments relating to international financial policy

(a)

Bilateral negotiations

Section 3004(b) of the Exchange Rates and International Economic Policy Coordination Act of 1988 (22 U.S.C. 5304(b)) is amended in the second sentence by striking and (2) and inserting or (2). (b)

Definition of manipulation

Section 3006 of the Exchange Rates and International Economic Policy Coordination Act of 1988 (22 U.S.C. 5306) is amended by adding at the end the following: (3)

Manipulation of rate of exchange

For purposes of this Act, a country shall be considered to be manipulating the rate of exchange between its currency and the United States dollar if there is a protracted large-scale intervention in one direction in the exchange markets. The Secretary may find that a country is manipulating the rate of exchange based on any other factor or combination of factors. . (c)

Report

Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall undertake an examination, and submit a report to Congress, regarding the trade surplus of the People's Republic of China. The Secretary shall examine why the trade surplus with the United States and other countries reported by the People's Republic of China differs from the trade surplus reported by the other countries. The report shall also quantify the differences between the trade surplus reported by the United States and other countries and what is reported by the People's Republic of China.