Chinese Currency Accountability Act of 2025
Floor Speech
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Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 386) to require the United States Governor of, and the United States Executive Director at, the International Monetary Fund to oppose an increase in the weight of the Chinese renminbi in the Special Drawing Rights basket of the Fund, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 386
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Chinese Currency Accountability Act of 2025''. SEC. 2. OPPOSITION OF THE UNITED STATES TO AN INCREASE IN THE WEIGHT OF THE CHINESE RENMINBI IN THE SPECIAL DRAWING RIGHTS BASKET OF THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States Governor of, and the United States Executive Director at, the International Monetary Fund to use the voice and vote of the United States to oppose any increase in the weight of the Chinese renminbi in the basket of currencies used to determine the value of Special Drawing Rights, unless the Secretary of the Treasury has submitted to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate a written report which includes a certification that--
(1) the People's Republic of China is in compliance with all its obligations under Article VIII of the Articles of Agreement of the Fund;
(2) in the preceding 12 months, there has not been a report submitted under section 3005 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 or section 701 of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 in which the People's Republic of China has been found to have manipulated its currency; and
(3) the People's Republic of China adheres to the rules and principles of the Paris Club and the OECD Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits. SEC. 3. SUNSET.
Section 2 shall have no force or effect beginning 10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 386, the Chinese Currency Accountability Act.
I thank my good friend, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Davidson), for sponsoring this important legislation.
As chairman of the House Financial Services Committee in this Congress, I am delighted that Mr. Davidson has assumed the chairmanship on our Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions.
The Chinese Currency Accountability Act is not a new initiative. It passed the House under suspension of the rules last year after our committee reported it unanimously to the full House.
This bill is important to limit China's influence over one of our most crucial international, multilateral organizations. The International Monetary Fund, the IMF, acts as the world's critical lender to nations, particularly those heavily indebted, to handle critical balance of payments financing. It conducts its business through Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs.
SDRs not only serve as a unit of account for the IMF, but they also act as a reserve asset on the balance sheet of central banks and, as such, SDR assets earn interest.
Prior to 2016, both the value and the interest rate of the SDR was determined by a basket of currencies issued by the independent central banks of the world and overseen by democratic governments. These currencies were the U.S. dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen, and the pound sterling in the United Kingdom.
In 2016, the IMF then added the Chinese renminbi to the basket, even though the use of the renminbi was miniscule and the People's Bank of China is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. Mr. Speaker, I don't believe that the rule of law in China merits this inclusion.
The decision in 2022 by the IMF to increase the weight of the Chinese currency in that basket was equally shocking. Not only did China's political control of the central bank remain unchanged, but the IMF also knew that China's predatory lending through its Belt and Road predatory lending program to emerging markets was threatening the future of the IMF's own programs.
The fact that it went ahead and boosted China's weight in that important SDR basket at the Fund is an embarrassment. Now the IMF finds itself lecturing other countries about central bank independence, but it charges them interest that is partially determined by the decisions at the People's Bank of China.
Hopefully, on this House floor, that irony is not lost on any Member or any of the countries on the Board of Directors at the IMF.
Mr. Davidson's bill would put an end to rewarding China's bad behavior. His legislation would require the Treasury Department to oppose further increases for Chinese renminbi in the IMF's currency basket until the Department of the Treasury certifies that China is in compliance with the IMF Articles of Agreement and adheres to the lending standards upheld by the world's major creditors.
In other words, Mr. Speaker, H.R. 386 isn't about holding China to a double standard. It means forcing the People's Republic of China to follow the same international rules of the road if it wants to enjoy the benefits of multilateralism and global leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend Mr. Davidson for this important measure. I urge all of my colleagues to support it, and I reserve the balance of my time
Mr. Speaker, I will echo the comments of my friend from Ohio (Mr. Davidson) about the fact that China is not a full market economy. It has not met its obligations to act as a good sovereign on settling creditor concerns. The belt and road policies of China have deeply indebted so many global south nations in such a way that the IMF does not have a full picture of their financial status in order to have access to the IMF's lending authorities.
This is just another way, Mr. Speaker, for this House to, I think, make better policy and that we ask the IMF to have full transparency on what is happening in China and their participation with the Fund. One way to do that is to accomplish the worthy objectives here in H.R. 386. I ask all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bill.
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