White House draws heat on yuan

The Bush administration came under fire from United States lawmakers from both parties Thursday for failing to increase pressure on China over its currency policies, the Wall Street Journal reported. Treasury Secretary John Snow came in for particular heat for not formally branding China a currency manipulator in the twice-yearly report to Congress on world exchange rates. The yuan has strengthened only about 3% against the dollar since the mid-1990s, and several senators alleged that the currency's weakness has contributed to the US$202 billion US trade deficit with China. Congress is considering several bills aimed at punishing Beijing for its currency practices, including one bipartisan measure that would impose 27.5% tariffs on all Chinese products coming into the US, which the administration has indicated it will veto.