US cranks up currency pressure

US officials have put China under pressure to speed up its currency reform and open up its markets ahead of President Hu Jintao's visit to the country next month. Speaking to a congressional committee, Treasury Undersecretary Timothy Adams said that getting China to further revalue its currency remained his department's number one priority and criticized Beijing's slow progress on the issue. Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez told the US business community in Beijing that China must remove barriers to entry in its markets in the face of growing protectionist sentiment from Washington. Senators Charles Schumer and Lindsey Graham have agreed to postpone a vote on a bill to impose a 27.5% tariff on US imports from China if a substantial yuan revaluation is not forthcoming. But a new senate proposal has been put forward that would make any decision on retaliation the responsibility of the Treasury Department.