<html xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)">
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="State"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="City"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="country-region"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="place"/>
<!--[if !mso]>
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
panose-1:2 11 6 3 2 2 2 2 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
h1
{mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:24.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
font-weight:bold;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
p
{mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
span.EmailStyle18
{mso-style-type:personal;
font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
color:blue;
font-weight:normal;
font-style:normal;
text-decoration:none none;}
span.EmailStyle19
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
color:blue;
font-weight:normal;
font-style:normal;
text-decoration:none none;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
</head>
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=blue>
<div class=Section1>
<div>
<h1><b><font size=4 face="Trebuchet MS"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Trebuchet MS"'><a
href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-elk/even-the-chamber-of-comme_b_508676.html"
target="_blank" title=Permalink>Even The Chamber of Commerce is Critical of
Chinese Currency Manipulation</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h1>
<p><font size=2 face="Trebuchet MS"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Trebuchet MS"'>By Mike Elk, Campaign for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">America</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s Future<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 face="Trebuchet MS"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Trebuchet MS"'>Last week, I wrote about the growing bipartisan consensus to
confront <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place>
on its illegal currency manipulation. <a
href="http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2010031116/bipartisan-solution-creates-2-million-jobs-and-costs-nothing"
target="_blank">130 bipartisan lawmakers</a> issued a call to action and
economists from <a
href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-moore/the-great-thing-about-the_b_507852.html"
target="_blank">left to right</a> have come out saying something needs to be
done to address this issue. Now a new player has entered the chorus of those
calling for something to be done about illegal Chinese Currency Manipulation -
the <a
href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/97b29e4e-351c-11df-9cfb-00144feabdc0.html"
target="_blank">Chamber of Commerce</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Trebuchet MS"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS"'>The Chamber of Commerce has traditionally
advocated for free trade on behalf of big, multinational companies. In the
1990's, the Chamber lead the fight to get <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place> into the World Trade
Organizations. So, for the Chamber to abandon <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place> is extraordinary. As <a
href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/97b29e4e-351c-11df-9cfb-00144feabdc0.html"
target="_blank">the Financial Times</a> notes: <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 face="Trebuchet MS"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Trebuchet MS"'>The <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region>
business community can no longer resist political pressure for <st1:State
w:st="on">Washington</st1:State> to take a tougher stand against <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place>
on trade issues, according to a senior figure from the US Chamber of Commerce.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 face="Trebuchet MS"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Trebuchet MS"'>Myron Brilliant, senior vice-president for international
affairs, who has previously helped to protect <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Beijing</st1:City></st1:place> from hawkish trade policies, told the
Financial Times: "I don't think the Chinese government can count on the
American business community to be able to push back and block action [on
Capitol Hill]."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 face="Trebuchet MS"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Trebuchet MS"'>While Brilliant did not say the Chamber of Commerce would back
legislative efforts to label <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region>
a "currency manipulator" , his lack of support for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place> is an indication of which way
the political winds are blowing. As the story <a
href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/97b29e4e-351c-11df-9cfb-00144feabdc0.html"
target="_blank">notes</a>: <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'>
<p><font size=2 face="Trebuchet MS"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Trebuchet MS"'>Mr Brilliant said <a
href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/66958052-355c-11df-9cfb-00144feabdc0.html"
target="_blank" title="FT - US companies find China less welcoming">corporate
America's attitude had changed</a> in response to a range of "industrial
policies" pursued by <st1:City w:st="on">Beijing</st1:City>, including the
undervaluation of the renminbi, which made it harder for US companies to do
business and compete with <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place>.
He also cited the tough economic times in the <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region>
- particularly the near 10 per cent jobless rate - as making it more difficult
to argue against tough action on <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</blockquote>
<p><font size=2 face="Trebuchet MS"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Trebuchet MS"'>The Chamber backed up this talking point by releasing a survey <a
href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/97b29e4e-351c-11df-9cfb-00144feabdc0.html"
target="_blank">showing that</a> "38 percent of foreign firms questioned
by the American Chamber of Commerce say they feel increasingly unwelcome to
participate and compete in the Chinese market." More startling, <a
href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/97b29e4e-351c-11df-9cfb-00144feabdc0.html"
target="_blank">57 percent of "foreign firms specializing in high-tech and
information technology"</a> said they felt negatively affected by
government policies. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 face="Trebuchet MS"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Trebuchet MS"'>There is clearly a shift in both corporate <st1:country-region
w:st="on">America</st1:country-region> and <st1:State w:st="on">Washington</st1:State>
establishment thinking on the issue of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Reports indicate that
President Obama, needing to do something big to protect jobs, is seriously
debating labeling China a "currency manipulator" as the April 15th
deadline for doing so approaches. This is all the more reasons why we should be
pushing President Obama to label <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place> a currency manipulator on
April 15th. Then if <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region>
fails to fix the problem, we should push President Obama to take more
aggressive actions like placing tariffs on <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place> as Paul Krugman and others
have suggested. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=2 face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS"'><a
href="http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2010031116/bipartisan-solution-creates-2-million-jobs-and-costs-nothing"
target="_blank">2-3 millions jobs</a> could be created by fixing <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s
exchange rate problem. As economist <a
href="http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2010031116/bipartisan-solution-creates-2-million-jobs-and-costs-nothing"
target="_blank">C. Fred Bergsten</a> noted "If there is going to be a
serious jobs program, the exchange rate of the dollar must be at the center of
the debate". <font color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=2 face="Trebuchet MS"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS"'>-- <br>
Mike Elk<br>
Office: (202) 587-1623<br>
Cell: (412) 613-8423<br>
Twitter - @MikeElk<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>