Obama concerned China currency bill violates WTO obligations

President Obama made clear on Thursday that he has concerns about whether the Senate China currency bill violates U.S. World Trade Organization obligations.

Senate Republicans led by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) have been asking Obama to make his stance on the bill clear, but so far the administration has not come out against it. Obama stopped short of saying he opposes the bill, but said that in his view it may backfire.

Obama told a news conference on his jobs bill that he has told a lead sponsor of the bill, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), that he is worried about passing "symbolic legislation" that cannot be upheld in the WTO and leads to retaliation.

Obama said of China that it is "indisputable that they intervene heavily in the currency market," and the legislation is an effort to address that.

The Schumer bill would make it easier for the U.S. to count a manipulated currency when formulating anti-dumping duties and changes the way anti-subsidy countervailing duties are determined as it relates to currency.

Both changes might violate specific guidelines the U.S. agreed to on anti-dumping and countervailing duties at the WTO.

The Senate voted by 62-38 to cut off debate on the China currency bill on Thursday morning, but House GOP leaders are opposed to the bill and are unlikely to bring it up. Exporters are worried that an angry China could move to retaliate against U.S. exports in response to the bill.

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