Schumer tries to force Senate vote on China currency bill

The US Senate will vote within two weeks on legislation intended to force renminbi appreciation, according to New York Senator Charles Schumer. The measure, similar to a measure considered in 2007, would require the US Treasury Department to establish whether a particular nation has a currency misaligned with the US dollar, Bloomberg reported. It would also allow companies to label the currency a subsidy and consequently call for import duties to redress the balance. Schumer plans to attach the measure as an amendment to a bill to increase lending to small businesses. He claims that an artificially undervalued renminbi gives Chinese exporters an unfair advantage over US manufacturers. Separately, the Senate voted Wednesday to require the Obama administration to examine risks tied to foreign holdings of US debt. It is feared that China could use its holdings to "try to manipulate domestic and foreign policymaking of the United States, including the United States relationship with Taiwan."