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U.S. opens trade probe on China
WASHINGTON, -- The Obama administration said it would investigate Chinese support for clean energy industries in a probe prompted by a United Steelworkers Union complaint.
The United Steelworkers Union filed a 5,000-page trade complaint against China Sept. 9, accusing the county of subsidizing clean energy industries to thwart global competition. The complaint was timed to force the Obama administration to respond before the November election, The New York Times reported at the time.
On Friday, the Office of the United States Trade Representative said it would pursue the matter. In a related development, the U.S. Treasury Department said it would delay release of a foreign-exchange rate report, a semi-annual document which the Treasury uses to declare countries a currency manipulator, which can trigger broad import tariffs.
The United States has been pressuring China to allow the renminbi to appreciate. China, in June, said it would allow some flexibility in the currency rate.
Until September, the renminbi appreciated only a small fraction of what many economists considered reasonable. Since then, it has risen about 2.5 percent relative to the U.S. dollar, still shy of the 20 percent to 40 percent some economists say is the correct amount. Nevertheless, on Friday, when the exchange-rate report was due for release, the Treasury said it "recognized China's actions since early September to accelerate the pace of currency appreciation, while noting it is important to sustain this course."
The steelworkers case includes complaints that China is giving green-energy industries free land on which to build factories and providing it with low-interest loans.
The steelworkers union responded to Friday's decision, saying in a statement, "President Obama showed again today that fighting for U.S. workers and their jobs is his top priority," the Times reported.
WASHINGTON, -- The Obama administration said it would investigate Chinese support for clean energy industries in a probe prompted by a United Steelworkers Union complaint.
The United Steelworkers Union filed a 5,000-page trade complaint against China Sept. 9, accusing the county of subsidizing clean energy industries to thwart global competition. The complaint was timed to force the Obama administration to respond before the November election, The New York Times reported at the time.
On Friday, the Office of the United States Trade Representative said it would pursue the matter. In a related development, the U.S. Treasury Department said it would delay release of a foreign-exchange rate report, a semi-annual document which the Treasury uses to declare countries a currency manipulator, which can trigger broad import tariffs.
The United States has been pressuring China to allow the renminbi to appreciate. China, in June, said it would allow some flexibility in the currency rate.
Until September, the renminbi appreciated only a small fraction of what many economists considered reasonable. Since then, it has risen about 2.5 percent relative to the U.S. dollar, still shy of the 20 percent to 40 percent some economists say is the correct amount. Nevertheless, on Friday, when the exchange-rate report was due for release, the Treasury said it "recognized China's actions since early September to accelerate the pace of currency appreciation, while noting it is important to sustain this course."
The steelworkers case includes complaints that China is giving green-energy industries free land on which to build factories and providing it with low-interest loans.
The steelworkers union responded to Friday's decision, saying in a statement, "President Obama showed again today that fighting for U.S. workers and their jobs is his top priority," the Times reported.
