Currency manipulation an ongoing trade issue

A bipartisan group of 226 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter urging President Obama to tackle the problem of currency manipulation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement negotiations. Lawmakers are particularly concerned about including Japan, because Japan “has a well-documented history of manipulating the value of the yen to help its exporters,” says Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Mich. Japan and the other 11 countries included in the agreement would account for nearly 40 percent of global gross domestic product and approximately one-third of total world trade, according to U.S. Trade Representative reports. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate has introduced the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act, bi-partisan legislation intended to address the impact of currency manipulation on U.S. manufacturers. For details, visit American Manufacturing.