[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 11852-11853]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     CHINESE CURRENCY MANIPULATION

  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam President, over the last few days, we have 
watched President Obama's Cabinet Members and leaders of the G20 
nations in Toronto for an economic summit. Our trade relationship with 
China has been one of the most important among many issues the world's 
leaders have addressed.
  We know Ohio's workers and manufacturers can compete with anyone in 
the world, but China's currency manipulation imposes an enormous and an 
unfair competitive disadvantage to our workers and our manufacturers.
  While last week's announcement that China will allow a gradual 
appreciation of the value of the yuan is encouraging, we have all too 
often seen China revert to its old tricks when the spotlight fades. In 
fact, China made its announcement on a Saturday--a minimalist 
announcement at that--and the next day backpedaled even on that 
announcement.
  China's systemic intervention in the currency market, where they 
continue to buy Western currency, has led to the undervaluation of the 
yuan by up to 40 percent--some economists say even more than that. That 
means China has a distinct advantage for its exporters and puts our 
exporters at a distinct disadvantage when they try to get into the 
Chinese market. That is why we asked the Commerce Department to make 
the important decision to investigate China's currency manipulation on 
behalf of paper manufacturers in Ohio and several other States. These 
companies and their workers in West Carlton, OH, and in Miamisburg, OH, 
are holding on for their lives, and, like manufacturers and workers 
around the United States, they understand why our trade law's 
enforcement and remedies are so vital. They know firsthand why our 
trade laws must combat currency manipulation.
  If we fail to act, China's currency manipulation will continue to 
contribute to our country's staggering trade deficit with China. Our 
trade deficit with China in the last 3 years, particularly prior to our 
terrible financial situation, approached $1 billion a day. That means 
we bought from China $1 billion more than we sold to them, day-in and 
day-out, 365 days a year.
  Senators Graham, Schumer, Stabenow, and I are calling for a vote on 
our legislation that addresses this blatant currency manipulation to 
ensure that we take action on Chinese imports until the yuan rises to 
its fair market value.
  It is clear that our manufacturers are backed into a corner. It is 
also clear that it did not have to be this way. Ten years ago this 
summer, Congress passed permanent normal trade relations with China as 
our Nation entered the 21st century facing great economic opportunities 
and confronting gathering national security threats. You remember 10 
years ago we had a balanced budget, until the Bush years with tax cuts 
for the rich, the giveaway for the drug and insurance companies in the 
name of Medicare privatization, and two wars, all of which were charged 
to our grandchildren, none of which were paid for. We had an economic 
situation where we were beginning to lose manufacturing jobs.
  I remember those days, serving in the House, and recall that every 
Member of Congress--literally probably every single Member of 
Congress--was told, even those of us who were outspokenly against this 
PNTR with China--we were told repeatedly in newspaper ads and 
editorials, told in hundreds of individual visits by CEOs of Americas 
largest companies--they walked into our office and said: We want access 
to 1.2 billion Chinese consumers. Really, they didn't; they wanted 
access to 1.2 billion Chinese workers.
  Free-trade advocates in Washington and Wall Street and nearly every 
editorial board lauded the economic opportunities yet to come from U.S. 
workers and businesses. These pundits, these CEOs, these Ivy League 
economists, these newspaper editors heralded passage of PNTR with China 
as the best way to promote reform and stability in China and the 
region. None hesitated for a minute calling those of us who opposed the 
PNTR protectionists, saying that we have our heads in the sand, we are 
backward-looking Luddites and whatever adjective they chose. Today, 
just 10 years later, those proponents have been shown dreadfully wrong. 
The problem is that those people who pushed PNTR--the CEOs, the Harvard 
economist, the newspaper editors--few of them have lost their jobs. It 
has been workers in Galion, OH, and Zanesville and Toledo and Mansfield 
and Chillicothe who have paid the price because of that terrible 
decision to extend those trade preferences to the People's Republic of 
China.
  Since receiving PNTR status and the benefits of membership in the 
World Trade Organization, the WTO, China has taken money from American 
consumers and investors without fully opening its markets to American 
businesses and workers. The results are record trade deficits. The 
results are millions of jobs lost. Three million manufacturing jobs 
have been lost in the last several years--not all because of China 
trade but a significant number.
  Chinese workers continue to face low wages and substandard labor 
conditions. This has not worked particularly well for Chinese workers. 
It sure has not worked well for American workers. It has worked well 
for those American companies that outsourced their jobs, hired Chinese 
workers at very low wages, with very few environmental or

[[Page 11853]]

worker safety safeguards, and then exported those goods back into the 
United States.
  Even the most ardent proponents of China PNTR are likely to feel a 
bit of buyer's remorse, unable to do business in China because of 
China's aggressive protection of its industries.
  We must do more to strengthen a multilateral, rules-based system that 
holds trading partners accountable. A critical way to hold them 
accountable and advance our economic interests is strong and aggressive 
trade enforcement.
  President Obama, on two occasions, did something President Bush never 
did, even though he was presented with recommendations from the 
International Trading Commission. President Obama twice already showed 
a willingness to enforce trade rules--the first President to invoke the 
section 421 safeguards, which he did when he granted relief to the U.S. 
consumer tire industry. This single action saved at least 100 jobs in 
Findlay, OH, at Cooper Tire, after President Obama said China is 
cheating, China is not playing fair, and invoked these sanctions 
against them.
  The Commerce Department then found that steel pipe and tube 
manufacturers, so-called ``oil country tubular goods'' manufacturers, 
are being dramatically undercut by China. As a result, the 
International Trade Commission granted immediate relief for these oil 
country tubular goods, which is helping V&M Star expand operations in 
Youngstown.
  I was in Youngstown at V&M Star. I saw what they were doing. We did a 
groundbreaking today with Governor Strickland, who has played a roll in 
assembling the package for Star Steel's expansion--some recovery 
dollars to help with infrastructure leading in and out of the plant, a 
$6 million investment in V&M, a very productive workforce for the last 
several years at V&M Star, and this trade decision President Obama made 
to simply say the Chinese have not played fair--and the ITC has granted 
immediate relief. Those factors show that when you enforce trade law, 
it creates jobs.
  There will be 1,000 building trades jobs for the next 18 months in 
Mahoning Valley because of these direct jobs. Then there will be 
another 400 or so and maybe more jobs in the future as this company 
expands.
  These are good developments, obviously, but there is more we can do 
to show America is serious about trade enforcement. There is more we 
can do to show we are serious about rebalancing our trade relationship 
with China in defending our national economic interests. And we know 
there is more we can do in defending a strong national manufacturing 
base that leads the United States in the global clean energy economy.
  Right now, China is working every day to win the race by any cost and 
any means necessary. Beijing invested $35 billion in renewable energy 
last year, more or less double the $18 billion we invested as a 
country. Every day we delay investments in clean energy, China spends 
$51 million a day to further that unacceptable gap.
  China is not only using its abundance of capital to monopolize clean 
energy manufacturing, it is also elbowing competition out of the way by 
discriminating against U.S. companies.
  China cries foul at our ``Buy American'' policies but has its own 
``Buy China'' policies, without signing onto the WTO agreement on 
procurement. They promised in 2000, with the passage of PNTR, they 
promised they would join the agreement on procurement, which meant fair 
play on contracts between and among governments. Yet China has not only 
refused to sign on, they also had a strong ``Buy China'' arrangement in 
their economy, what would have violated WTO rules. Yet several major 
opinion leaders--Ivy League economists, pundits on television, 
newspaper editors, and too many elected officials--pushed back and said 
we should not do ``Buy American'' in this country.
  China's so-called ``indigenous innovation'' policies provide 
preferences to products containing Chinese-developed intellectual 
property for government procurement purposes. That is why I encourage 
the Obama administration to launch a section 301 case against the 
Chinese package of policies that limit market access to U.S. companies 
in the clean energy sector.
  If China leads the clean energy revolution, we will trade dependance 
on foreign oil with dependence on Chinese or foreign clean energy 
technologies. With the right investments and with strong trade 
enforcement, we can make sure that does not happen.
  Consider, as you know in Oregon, what is at stake. Five of the top 
ten solar panel makers in the world are from China. But the No. 1 is 
First Solar, a U.S. company which has factories around the world that 
can produce as much energy as any coal or nuclear plant but, of course, 
much cleaner and more efficient.
  One of First Solar's factories is in Perrysburg, OH, and the 
entrepreneurs behind the company's success started at the University of 
Toledo. If we want to keep First Solar at the top in the world, and if 
we want our entrepreneurs to continue to lead the world in innovation, 
they should have access to all of the world's markets. That is why we 
need the President of the United States to lead the crusade for 
vigorous trade enforcement.
  Just the launch of a 301 case by this administration will show China 
we are serious about competing in this emerging market. We cannot enter 
the next decade of the 21st century further behind, facing the same 
hurdles that faced our Nation just 10 years ago.
  As the G20 summit convenes this weekend and beyond, we must take the 
buyer's remorse of those who supported China PNTR and make sure we 
begin the next decade with a rules-based trading system that works for 
American workers and works for American manufacturers.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Merkley). The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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