The Senate just passed a bill (65 to 35) that "would allow any 'fundamentally misaligned' currency to be labelled a subsidy to countervailing duties." Which essentially means that an undervalued currency could be labeled as an illegal subsidy. Anyone else confused?
The article chalks it up to jealously and resentment against China because it has a growing economy and we're losing all of our jobs to outsourcing which seems petty for this great nation (if I'm to believe the propaganda). Obviously this is against the World Trade Organization's policy and if the bill did ever end up becoming a law, China could bring the U.S. to court.
Bloomberg makes it a little clearer in that this bill is essentially a tariff against China. However, wouldn't a tariff also hurt the working class as it causes a rise in the price of goods? In addition, if a company can prove that it is being harmed, the review would take approximately a year. Am I the only one that thinks that is a waste of time and money?
So, I think that Obama should not sign the bill, but as the Senate and maybe the House are showing, there is growing support for anti-China sentiments. Xiahua says that it might end up leading to a trade war. That sounds like it will just hurt the people this is trying to help. Could this hurt Obama's campaign? I'm not really sure, but what do you think? One thing that seems fairly certain would be that this would definitely hurt the U.S.'s reputation and make many enemies.
There are many questions still reeling around and it is not even certain that the House will pass the bill although many of then to be leaning towards passing the bill. This protectionist attitude seems fairly new, but the Senate has been trying to pass similar bills since 2003. Puts a new spin on "the land of the free."
