Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act 2010

Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act 2010
Enacted by	U.S. Congress
Date signed	n/a
Introduced by	Timothy Ryan datepassed = September 29, 2010 (House of Representatives), not passed (Senate)

The Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act 2010 was a bill by the Congress of the United States that sought punitive trade tariffs on countries that have perceived unfair competitive advantaged by such measures as currency manipulation.^[1]

The Act followed controversy as to China artificially keeping the yuan lower than its actual value (some say by at least 20%). Further to China there were other countries, most notably Japan, that took measures to weaken their currency.

Background

Further information: Currency war

Bill

The bill was introduced by Rep. Timothy Ryan [D-OH] on 13 May 2010. It was passed on to the House Ways and Means committee and the Senate Finance committee on 28 September 2010.^[2] The following day it was passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 348 in favour, 79 opposed and 6 abstentations.^[3]

The House bill amended the Tariff Act of 1930 in that this version require the president's administration to: (1) determine, based on certain requirements, if the currency exchange rate of a country that exports goods or services to the US is "fundamentally and actionably undervalued or overvalued" against the American dollar for an 18-month period; and (2) should there be deemed a violation, the administration should to take action in the form of a "countervailing duty or antidumping duty" so as to offset such a misalignment. It also said the currency of a non-market economy would be subject to the provisions of the Act.^[4]

Amendments

An amendment was offered in the House committee, and was adopted.^{[clarification needed][5]}

References

1. ^ Currency wars are necessary if all else fails - Telegraph
2. ^ H.R. 2378: Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act (GovTrack.us)
3. ^ GovTrack: House Vote On Passage: H.R. 2378: Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act
4. ^ H.R. 2378 - Summary: Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act (GovTrack.us)
5. ^ GovTrack: H.Amdt. 781 to H.R. 2378 - 111th Congress

External links

• Text of H.R. 2378: Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act
  • Related legislation