Economy
USTR: Not yet clear if moves to pressure China legal
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-09-21 06:47
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BALTIMORE, US - The Obama administration has not determined yet whether various proposals in Congress aimed at pressuring China to revalue its currency are legal under World Trade Organization rules, the top US trade official said on Monday.
"It's not a clear call," US Trade Representative Ron Kirk told reporters at an event at the Port of Baltimore to talk about the importance of exports to US economic growth.
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Last week, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geitner told lawmakers at hearings in the House of Representatives and Senate that the Obama administration could only support legislation to pressure China to revalue its currency if it was consistent with WTO rules and if the benefits of passing such a bill outweighed the risks.
But with pressure building on Congress to deal with the issue, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin said he planned to talk with Democratic leaders and others over the weekend to discuss whether to move legislation.
That prompted senior Republicans on the Ways and Means panel to send Kirk a letter asking specifically if one popular House bill, known as Ryan-Murphy, was consistent with WTO rules because it appeared potentially on a fast track to approval.
Kirk told reporters on Monday it was ultimately up to Congress to decide whether to pass currency legislation. But if it does act, it is important that bill is consistent with WTO rules.
He declined to say whether there might be a case for the United States to challenge China's currency practices as violation of WTO rules, as some members of Congress and experts allege.
