WASHINGTON—Four senior U.S. senators said on Wednesday they have pledged to work together on legislation aimed at ensuring China and other U.S. trade partners maintain currency regimes that follow International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization rules.
"Recognizing our common goals and shared concerns, we pledged to continue working together toward legislation to address currency exchange rate regimes," the top ranking Democratic and Republican senators on the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Banking Committee said in a joint statement.
The two panels passed separate bills nearly a year ago to give the White House new tools to pressure countries that manipulate their currencies for a comparative trade advantage.
However, partly because of a jurisdictional turf battle between the two committees, no further action was taken.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, said they met last week to discuss the next steps for currency legislation.
The meeting also included the Finance Committee's top Republican, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, and his counterpart on the Banking Committee, Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama.
"During our meeting, we discussed the progress China has made to appreciate its currency as well as the urgent need for continued appreciation and exchange rate liberalization," they said.
"We talked about the need for these important reforms in the context of recent turmoil in the American economy and growing uncertainty in the global economy," the joint statement said.
"We also discussed our legislative proposals to ensure that our global economic partners—including the People's Republic of China—maintain exchange rate regimes that are compatible with International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization commitments and principles," they said.
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