Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, we can talk or we can act. International trade is a high-stakes, cutthroat business. And every time we simply talk, the other side acts. And every time they act, an American loses a job. It's time for us to do what American workers for the last several years have been asking us to do, and that is to take action against what we know are unfair trade practices going on which cause us not only to lose jobs but to lose American businesses that can't continue to sustain themselves here and move abroad.

We know that the Chinese have been playing with their currency. Everyone knows that the Chinese have been playing with their currency. The Chinese know it. You know what? They are going to do everything they can for their workers. They are going to do everything they can for their businesses. You can't beat them for that. But please, let's not let them beat us at what we can do well. And that's why it's time to do this legislation.

Some credible estimates say that if we were to act on China's currency manipulation, we could return 1 million American jobs to this country, that we could reduce our $250 billion trade deficit by $100 billion with China. It is time for us to take action because the Chinese are certainly taking action. We can either take bold steps, as the American public has asked us, or we can take baby steps.

It's time for us to recognize that Americans are doing the best they can to produce American products so we can sell them, not just here but abroad. But if we allow someone to manipulate their currency by 25 to 40 percent, making their products look cheap here and making our products look expensive abroad, then guess what? Shame on us, because the American public is working very hard. It's time to pass this legislation. It's time to take bold steps, not to take baby steps.

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