China’s Currency Manipulation Should Serve as a Warning About TPP
Insulators International Staff — Wed, Aug 19, 2015 @ 12:08 PM
Those job losses are not low-wage jobs, either. As the Economic Policy Institute surmised earlier this year, increased trade deficits push jobs out of better-paying industries. And at a time when income inequality is running rampant in the U.S., workers don’t need even more “free” trade agreements that will further strip this nation’s economy of middle-income jobs.
Currency manipulation is serious enough that a bipartisan collection of lawmakers have aired their concerns about the issue. That’s a rarity in today’s bogged down Capitol Hill environment. But they know what the Teamsters and other advocates are saying is true — our existing currency policy has failed.
China’s latest actions highlight the importance of addressing this issue. Currency provisions must be placed in the TPP that could be enforced through trade sanctions. But just as importantly, any additional nations that wish to sign onto the pact in the future must also be approved by Congress. That way, China won’t be able to continue its current practices that leave American workers behind with no way to compete going forward.