AISI calls on Obama administration to control currency manipulation

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), along with other trade and economic groups, has called on the Obama administration to strictly enforce currency-manipulation measures in all future US Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

The trade group, together with AISI, sent a letter to Jack Lew, Secretary of the Treasury, and Michael Frohman, US Trade Representative, highlighting the bad consequences of manipulating currency levels. According to them, currency manipulation is one of the biggest distortions in international trade practices, with serious economic consequences for the United States.

“Currency manipulation continues to negatively impact manufacturers, including the US steel industry, placing them at a disadvantage in relation to our foreign competitors. To remain competitive internationally, we must insist that our trading partners be held accountable for manipulating their currencies in order to gain a trading advantage, ”said Thomas J. Gibson, President and CEO. AISI.

The study estimates that currency manipulation contributed significantly to the widening of the United States' trade deficit. This led to an increase in the trade deficit to $ 500 billion per year. Addressing currency problems in future US free trade agreements, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), will help significantly reduce the country's trade deficit and spur economic growth.