Senate passes bill to sanction China

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

The Senate voted Tuesday to threaten China with higher tariffs on Chinese products made cheap through an artificially undervalued currency, which lawmakers blame for destroying American jobs. The House, though, is unlikely to take up the bill, which some American businesses warn could trigger a trade war.

The 63-35 vote showed a broad bipartisan consensus that it is time to end diplomatic niceties with China and confront it over its aggressive trade policies.

“There are always people who don’t want to stand up to China, and I think they are, frankly, undercutting our ability to stop the hemorrhaging in our manufacturing jobs,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.

“I understand that some on Wall Street don’t like this bill,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. “They are wrong about this.”

Still, the bill could die in the House, where a companion measure has the sponsorship of more than half the members but lacks the support of the GOP leadership.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, like the many large multinational companies that oppose the legislation, has said it would be dangerous to dictate another country’s currency policies, and he can prevent the bill from ever being considered.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said Tuesday that the White House should make its position clear before the House acts. The White House and President Barack Obama have not come out against the bill but have shown they are not comfortable with it, saying they are concerned about any legislation that might violate international trade rules.

Advocates for the bill say it will make American goods more competitive and support more than 1 million new jobs. Critics warn that it will provoke Chinese retaliation and hurt Americans in one of their fastest-growing markets.

Regardless of the outcome, the debate and the vote are giving senators a chance to make clear to the Chinese their frustrations over trade policies that have seen China’s trade surplus with the United States go from $10 billion 20 years ago to $273 billion last year, delivering painful blows to U.S. manufacturers and their employees.