The US Senate Finance Committee began drawing up legislation Tuesday intended to allow the country to take stronger action against Beijing amid continuing concerns about America's trade deficit with China, Reuters reported. "We're trying to come up with legislation that is WTO-consistent," said Senator Charles Schumer, who is working with counterparts Lindsey Graham, Max Baucus and Charles Grassley. Schumer and Graham have spent much of the last two years trying to push through legislation threatening a 27.5% tariff on all US imports from China unless steps are taken to raise the value of the yuan. China critics argue that the yuan is undervalued by as much as 40%, giving Chinese companies an unfair trade advantage. Schumer and Graham abandoned their bill to work with Baucus and Grassley, the current and former Finance Committee chairmen, respectively. It is thought they might push for the Commerce Department to be empowered to impose punitive duties on subsidized products from non-market economies like China.
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