WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA) and the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) today expressed disappointment at the U.S. Treasury Department’s announcement that it would delay its next report on currency manipulation until after the November 6, 2012 presidential election. In its previous semi-annual evaluations of U.S. trading partners, the Treasury Department has called the yuan “severely undervalued” but has failed to take action to officially sanction the country.
“While we are not surprised that the Treasury Department is delaying its release of the report until after the elections, we remain concerned that the Department continues to decline to officially designate China as a currency manipulator for its longstanding practice of keeping the yuan artificially low,” said PMA President Bill Gaskin. “China and other countries continue to manipulate their currency, giving them an unfair and illegal advantage against U.S. businesses, resulting in the loss of thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs.”
“U.S. manufacturers can compete with anyone if provided a level playing field; however, currency manipulation negatively impacts the ability of U.S. businesses – and small manufacturers in particular – to compete in the global marketplace,” said NTMA President Dave Tilstone. “We hope that whoever is in the Oval Office on January 20, 2013 will support U.S. manufacturers by taking a more formal and forceful approach against China and other countries that illegally manipulate their currencies.”
NTMA and PMA supported the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Act, passed by the U.S. Senate in 2011 to address currency manipulation by U.S. trading partners including China. Both manufacturing associations have been working to urge the U.S. House to pass the legislation.
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About One Voice: The National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA)’s and the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA)’s combined “One Voice” federal government advocacy program represents nearly 3,000 metalworking companies and is designed to promote U.S. government policies that will ensure a strong manufacturing sector in the United States. For additional information, please visit www.metalworkingadvocate.org.