[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 839 Engrossed in House (EH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 839

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To require the United States Executive Director at the International 
 Monetary Fund to advocate for increased transparency with respect to 
exchange rate policies of the People's Republic of China, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``China Exchange Rate Transparency Act 
of 2023''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Under Article IV of the Articles of Agreement of the 
        International Monetary Fund (IMF), the People's Republic of 
        China has committed to orderly exchange rate arrangements, the 
        avoidance of exchange rate manipulation, and cooperation with 
        the IMF to ensure ``firm surveillance'' of the exchange rate 
        policies of the People's Republic of China. Pursuant to Article 
        VIII of the Articles of Agreement of the IMF, the IMF may 
        require the People's Republic of China to furnish data on gold 
        and foreign exchange holdings, including assets held by non-
        official agencies of the People's Republic of China.
            (2) In its November 2022 report, entitled ``Macroeconomic 
        and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the 
        United States'', the Department of the Treasury concluded, 
        ``China provides very limited transparency regarding key 
        features of its exchange rate mechanism, including the policy 
        objectives of its exchange rate management regime and its 
        activities in the offshore RMB market.''. The Department 
        continued: ``China's lack of transparency and use of a wide 
        array of tools complicate Treasury's ability to assess the 
        degree to which official actions are designed to impact the 
        exchange rate.''.
            (3) In that report, the Department further noted that 
        ``China's failure to publish foreign exchange intervention and 
        broader lack of transparency around key features of its 
        exchange rate mechanism make it an outlier among major 
        economies and warrants Treasury's close monitoring.''.

SEC. 3. ADVOCACY FOR INCREASED EXCHANGE RATE TRANSPARENCY FROM CHINA.

    The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States 
Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (in this Act 
referred to as the ``IMF'') to use the voice and vote of the United 
States to advocate for--
            (1) increased transparency from the People's Republic of 
        China, and enhanced multilateral and bilateral surveillance by 
        the IMF, with respect to the exchange rate arrangements of the 
        People's Republic of China, including any indirect foreign 
        exchange market intervention through Chinese financial 
        institutions or state-owned enterprises;
            (2) in connection with consultations with the People's 
        Republic of China under Article IV of the Articles of Agreement 
        of the IMF, the inclusion of any significant divergences by the 
        People's Republic of China from the exchange rate policies of 
        other issuers of currencies used in determining the value of 
        Special Drawing Rights; and
            (3) during governance reviews of the IMF, stronger 
        consideration by IMF members and management of the performance 
        of China as a responsible stakeholder in the international 
        monetary system when evaluating quota and voting shares at the 
        IMF.

SEC. 4. SUNSET.

    This Act shall have no force or effect on or after the date that is 
30 days after the earlier of--
            (1) the date that the United States Governor of the IMF 
        reports to the Congress that the People's Republic of China--
                    (A) is in substantial compliance with obligations 
                of the People's Republic of China under the Articles of 
                Agreement of the IMF regarding orderly exchange rate 
                arrangements; and
                    (B) has undertaken exchange rate policies and 
                practices consistent with those of other issuers of 
                currencies used in determining the value of Special 
                Drawing Rights; and
            (2) the date that is 7 years after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.

            Passed the House of Representatives January 12, 2024.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
118th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 839

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 To require the United States Executive Director at the International 
 Monetary Fund to advocate for increased transparency with respect to 
exchange rate policies of the People's Republic of China, and for other 
                               purposes.