Grassley criticizes delay of Treasury report regarding China

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) criticized Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for delaying the release of the Department's exchange rate report because it might strain relations with China. 

Congress usually receives the report by April 15 and it most likely would have called out the Asian country for currency manipulation. Geithner postponed the report's release because world leaders are expected to address the issue in the coming months. 

Grassley is the ranking member on Senate Finance, the committee with jurisdiction over trade and currency issues. He argues that declaring China a currency manipulator is the first step to tackling the issue. 

"If we want the Chinese to take us seriously, we need to be willing to say so in public," he said in prepared remarks. "The past few years have proven that denying the problem doesn't solve anything. The Treasury Department should cite China as a currency manipulator."

Grassley urged the Obama administration to take its case against China to the World Trade Organization, a group created to settle trade-related disputes. 

However, WTO settlements can take years. 

Some congressional leaders, like Ways and Means Chairman Sandy Levin (D-Mich.), want a speedier resolution and support the G-20 stepping in and settling the issue.

The G-20 is slated to meet and begin discussions on China later this month.