WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is part of a bipartisan group of senators urging United States Trade Representative Michael Froman and U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to more aggressively address currency issues in the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. In a letter to Froman and Lew, Grassley and his fellow senators requested an update on the Administration’s efforts to address currency issues and reiterated concerns regarding foreign countries devaluing their currency.

“As you know, we have long been concerned about currency issues, which directly impact the competitiveness of workers in our states and across the country.  However, recently China devalued its currency by over 4 percent,” Grassley and colleagues including Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) wrote.

“We fear these recent currency interventions could lead to a pattern of competitive devaluation within the Asia-Pacific that could hurt U.S. workers and exports for years to come,” they continued. 

The senators have repeatedly called for TPP negotiations to include strong provisions that address currency manipulation, which hurts U.S. auto exports and workers. 

Along with Grassley, Portman and Brown, today’s letter was also signed by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.). 

The full text of the letter can be found below and here. 

 

Dear Ambassador Froman and Secretary Lew,

We would appreciate you updating us on the efforts to address currency issues in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

As you know, we have long been concerned about currency issues, which directly impact the competitiveness of workers in our states and across the country.  However, recently China devalued its currency by over 4 percent.  In response to China's actions, Vietnam devalued its currency nearly 1 percent and Korea has since done the same.  We do not expect these devaluations to be the last, even in the near-term.  We fear these recent currency interventions could lead to a pattern of competitive devaluation within the Asia-Pacific that could hurt U.S. workers and exports for years to come. Therefore, it is extremely important that TPP addresses currency issues in meaningful and concrete ways.

Further, as China's recent devaluation demonstrated, these interventions can have significant and immediate global economic impacts. Thus, currency issues must be addressed seriously, aggressively, and promptly.  Recent comments by foreign TPP negotiators to Senate staff members suggest very little progress has been made on this issue. We would appreciate your perspective as to the impact these devaluations are having on US workers and your efforts to address them in the continuing TPP negotiations. 
 
Thank you for your attention to this issue.

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