Treasury backdown angers US lawmakers

US lawmakers are threatening to take matters into their own hands after Wednesday's Treasury Department report on global exchange-rate policies fell short of branding Beijing a currency manipulator. The twice yearly report said China was making "far too little progress" but was not guilty under US trade law of manipulating its currency. Democratic Senator Charles Schumer said the report showed his and Republican colleague Lindsey Graham's bill to place a 27.5% tariff on China's US-bound exports "may be the only way to get China to play fair in the global marketplace". The Schumer-Graham bill was delayed after the senators visited China in March, but they have vowed to relaunch it in six months unless China takes concrete steps towards reform. The decision also gave fresh impetus to a bill by Senators Chuck Grassley and Max Baucus to overhaul the entire US system for dealing with currency exchange issues.