US opts to hold report on currency value issue
Source: Agencies |
April 5, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE administration of Barack Obama is delaying a report to the United States Congress on currency policy amid calls from some lawmakers that it should cite China as a "manipulator."
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said over the weekend that publication of the report, due on April 15, had been deferred because some high-level international meetings in coming months would be a better way to advance the American position.
Still, Geithner said in a statement released on Saturday that China should adopt "a more market-oriented exchange rate" to balance the US trade deficit with China, which totaled US$226.8 billion last year - the largest imbalance with any country.
Nuke summit
US manufacturers say the yuan is undervalued by as much as 40 percent and is a big reason for the massive trade deficit.
A stronger yuan against the greenback would make US products less expensive in China, while making Chinese goods more expensive for American consumers.
Geithner's announcement came a day after the White House signaled an improvement in relations between the two countries amid news that President Hu Jintao will attend a summit on nuclear security this month in Washington.
President Obama told Hu during an hour-long phone call on Friday that he welcomed the decision.
Hu is scheduled to attend the summit the same week that the currency report is normally due.
The US administration is hoping that China will again allow the yuan to rise in value against the dollar as a way of narrowing the trade gap, as it did until mid-2008 when the global recession began to cut into China's exports abroad.
In his statement, Geithner said: "There are a series of very important high-level meetings over the next three months that will be critical to bringing about policies that will help create a stronger, more sustainable, and more balanced global economy."
They include a meeting of the Group of 20 rich and developing nations in Washington this month and a strategic and economic meeting with China in May.
Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are due to travel to Beijing in late May for the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, and there is a summit of G20 political leaders in Canada in June.
"I believe these meetings are the best avenue for advancing US interests at this time," Geithner said.
Two weeks ago, a group of 130 House of Representatives members sent a letter to the administration urging a citation of China as a currency manipulator.
China rejected the US pressure and accused Washington of trade protectionism that could hurt the global economic recovery.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said over the weekend that publication of the report, due on April 15, had been deferred because some high-level international meetings in coming months would be a better way to advance the American position.
Still, Geithner said in a statement released on Saturday that China should adopt "a more market-oriented exchange rate" to balance the US trade deficit with China, which totaled US$226.8 billion last year - the largest imbalance with any country.
Nuke summit
US manufacturers say the yuan is undervalued by as much as 40 percent and is a big reason for the massive trade deficit.
A stronger yuan against the greenback would make US products less expensive in China, while making Chinese goods more expensive for American consumers.
Geithner's announcement came a day after the White House signaled an improvement in relations between the two countries amid news that President Hu Jintao will attend a summit on nuclear security this month in Washington.
President Obama told Hu during an hour-long phone call on Friday that he welcomed the decision.
Hu is scheduled to attend the summit the same week that the currency report is normally due.
The US administration is hoping that China will again allow the yuan to rise in value against the dollar as a way of narrowing the trade gap, as it did until mid-2008 when the global recession began to cut into China's exports abroad.
In his statement, Geithner said: "There are a series of very important high-level meetings over the next three months that will be critical to bringing about policies that will help create a stronger, more sustainable, and more balanced global economy."
They include a meeting of the Group of 20 rich and developing nations in Washington this month and a strategic and economic meeting with China in May.
Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are due to travel to Beijing in late May for the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, and there is a summit of G20 political leaders in Canada in June.
"I believe these meetings are the best avenue for advancing US interests at this time," Geithner said.
Two weeks ago, a group of 130 House of Representatives members sent a letter to the administration urging a citation of China as a currency manipulator.
China rejected the US pressure and accused Washington of trade protectionism that could hurt the global economic recovery.
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