Washington, Sept 26: The Bush administration needs to get tougher with the Chinese so they stop manipulating their currency for trade advantages, several members of Congress said.
They said China was refusing to play by the rules it agreed to when it joined the World Trade Organization and should allow its currency to float freely on world markets.
"Verbiage is not enough," Senator Charles Schumer said yesterday in criticizing the Bush administration for not taking enough steps to get China to change its behavior. "We need action," he told the Congressionally appointed US-China economic and security review commission.
Schumer and 11 other Senators, both Republicans and Democrats, have introduced legislation that would require tariffs on imports from China if Beijing fails to revalue the yuan, which has been fixed at about 8.28 to the US dollar since 1994. Similar bills have been introduced in the house of representatives.

"By threatening to levy a 27.5 per cent tariff on Chinese imports to the United States, we show the Chinese that we are serious about protecting the free trade system against those who would exploit it," Schumer said. "There is no doubt such a tariff is a blunt instrument, but previous experience shows that playing hardball works wonders in the world of international trade."


Bureau Report