International Trade

U.S. automakers expressed frustration on Tuesday that trade negotiators aren’t pushing harder to include currency rules in international trade agreements.

The American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC), which represents the big three auto companies, said they are “alarmed” that the latest round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks in Hanoi have ended without the subject being discussed.

"After 21 rounds of TPP negotiations, we remain alarmed that a key priority for the U.S. Congress has been ignored,” said AAPC President Matt Blunt.

he U.S. and Japan are “really making efforts to strike a deal” as soon as possible in bilateral auto negotiations related to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Japanese TPP Ambassador Takeo Mori said Sept. 5.

In remarks to reporters following three days of negotiations with acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler in Washington, Mori said that the talks are at the “endgame” stage, but he declined to estimate when they would be concluded.

Leaders from three manufacturing groups held a news conference, calling on Congress, the White House and trade negotiators to get tough on countries engaged in currency manipulation.

China is their primary target, having tied the value of its dollar to the U.S. dollar instead of allowing it to be determined in foreign exchange markets.

They said U.S. manufacturing may be on a post-recession rebound, but it's being undermined by China's, Vietnam's and a handful of other countries' practice of currency manipulation.

Currency manipulation has a huge impact on manufacturers, says Bill Adler, president of Stripmatic Products Inc. in Cuyahoga Heights. Indeed, the past chairman of the Precision Metalforming Association thinks it's the biggest hurdle U.S. companies face when it comes to competing globally.

“We see and feel the direct impact of lost jobs, lost revenues because of unfair currency manipulation,” Adler said.

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and allied manufacturing groups today reiterated their call for strong and enforceable currency manipulation disciplines in all future trade agreements, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

American businesses could be hiring more workers today if we ended unfair trade practices used by some of our trading partners. No matter how competitive companies are in Ohio, they struggle to keep up with foreign competitors that are given an unearned advantage because of currency manipulation.