Letter to Jack Lew, Secretary of the Treasury - Preventing Currency Manipulation

Letter

Dear Secretary Lew and Ambassador Froman:

We share your commitment to supporting American workers and ensuring that American businesses are able to thrive in a global market. To do so, we believe it is necessary to address currency manipulation by foreign governments, which is a serious trade problem of the 21st century.

Failing to address currency manipulation could lessen or eliminate any benefits of a free trade agreement and leave American workers and American businesses at a continuing competitive disadvantage. Economists have found that currency manipulation has already resulted in up to five million lost American jobs.

The working families in our communities expect us to come together to tackle the big issues that will strengthen job creation. For that reason, we should respect the commitments all countries have already made on the matter as a part of IMF and WTO. Therefore, each country should be held accountable. As you continue to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership, we encourage you to pursue enforceable currency disciplines to prevent currency manipulation by our trading partners. We look forward to working with you on this going forward.