COX Newspapers Washington Bureau

Home > Window on Washington > Archives > 2007 > September > 24 > Entry

China rising, if not its currency

By Marilyn Geewax | Monday, September 24, 2007, 02:54 PM

U.S. lawmakers who want to punish China for depressing the value of its currency are failing to recognize several facts, according to Myron Brilliant, U.S. Chamber of Commerce vice president for East Asia.

For one, China already has allowed its currency to appreciate, although perhaps “not to the level some people would like to see,” Brilliant told reporters Monday while reviewing the Chamber’s annual assessment of U.S.-China commercial relations.

For another, any U.S. law designed to punish China would be challenged before the World Trade Organization, and probably would be found to violate WTO rules, he said.

Finally, Senate and House members pushing legislation imposing penalties on China for its currency policies are not seeing the value of a friendly relationship with the economic giant, he said.

“China is on the rise,” he said. “We can’t take this relationship lightly.”

Permalink | | Categories: Washington