Bennet Secures Amendments to Fight Currency Manipulation, Protect Environment in Trade Bills

Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet secured several amendments in the Senate Finance Committee to help strengthen enforcement tools to crack down on currency manipulation and environmental violations by U.S. trading partners.

"If done right, Colorado and our country have a lot to gain from trade agreements that are built to treat workers fairly," Bennet said. "We can make future trade agreements work better for our economy, businesses, and workers if we put a better process in place to set the terms of the negotiations and review of these deals. Our trade agreements need tough enforcement measures to ensure our trading partners are not gaming the system and taking advantage of our workers. The amendments we adopted will improve enforcement throughout our trade laws and ensure our trading partners uphold their commitments, particularly on currency manipulation and crucial environmental protections."

Trade is an important issue for Colorado's economy. Exports are particularly important to Colorado's agricultural sector. For example, Colorado wheat growers export more than 80 percent of what they produce. Beyond agriculture, nearly 6,000 businesses rely on exporting goods and services to foreign markets. Close to 90 percent of those companies are small or mid-sized businesses.

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