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10/28/2003 Archived Entry: "HOUSE PASSES IMPROVED FUNDING FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT"

HOUSE PASSES IMPROVED FUNDING FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

This week, according to Congressman Jerry Moran,the House passed legislation that reauthorizes and expands the Economic Development Administration. It also creates three new programs to provide additional grant funding to small communities in Kansas and across the nation. Finding new ways to improve economic development and keep our rural economies energized is essential to maintaining our small communities and our way of life.

This week, he sponsored legislation to help level the playing field for American manufacturers who struggle to compete against unfairly priced imports from China. The legislation, H.R. 3058, would impose tariffs on Chinese imports if the Treasury Department finds that illegal currency manipulation has been taking place.

Some economists estimate that the Chinese currency, the yuan, is undervalued against the dollar by as much as 40 percent. Essentially, this amounts to a 40 percent discount on all Chinese exports to the U.S. and a 40 percent tariff on all U.S. exports to China, including agriculture products. In addition, China imposes import tariffs averaging about 15 percent on U.S. goods.

This legislation would direct the Secretary of the Treasury Department to analyze and report to Congress whether China is manipulating its currency to gain a trade advantage. If the Secretary determines that China is undervaluing the yuan, the Department is required to levy tariffs equal to the percentage of manipulation found.

The artificially valued yuan has allowed Chinese products to be sold in the U.S. for well below the cost of production, hurting our manufacturers and agriculture producers and costing Kansans jobs. If we're serious about participating in a global trading system that helps, not hurts, American workers and farmers, we need to ensure that our trading partners do not manipulate their currencies to gain an unfair trade advantage.