IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 285
Expressing the concern of the Congress regarding the detrimental impact 
on the United States economy of the manipulation by foreign govern-
ments of their currencies. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 17, 2003
Mr. MANZULLO (for himself, Mr. STENHOLM, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. 
HILL, Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin, and Mr. HINOJOSA) submitted the fol-
lowing concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Ways and Means 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the concern of the Congress regarding the detri-
mental impact on the United States economy of the 
manipulation by foreign governments of their currencies.
Whereas manufacturing is critical to the health of the United 
States economy, generating high quality products, per-
sonal opportunity, careers, wealth, high standards of liv-
ing, and economic growth that together enable the Amer-
ican Dream; 
Whereas the manufacturing sector faces the most intense 
global competition in United States history, making it 
impossible for many firms to operate profitably and earn 
a return on capital invested, even as manufacturing costs
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continue to increase for many reasons, including govern-
mental actions; 
Whereas in July 2000 the manufacturing sector slipped into 
recession and since has lost 2,700,000 high paying manu-
facturing jobs, while the rest of the economy has actually 
added 623,000 jobs; 
Whereas industrial trade experts estimate that at least half 
of these manufacturing job losses have been due to ad-
verse trade movements, principally due to the effects of 
an overvalued United States dollar; 
Whereas exports of United States manufactured goods have 
fallen by $100,000,000,000 from their peak in 2000, and 
account for up to 40 percent of the total decline in pro-
duction and jobs; 
Whereas manufacturing remains the most trade sensitive sec-
tor of the United States economy, with one sixth of all 
United States manufacturing jobs, and almost one quar-
ter in durable goods production, attributable to exported 
products; 
Whereas the primary objective of the international monetary 
system should be to facilitate international trade and in-
vestment by helping to ensure that exchange rates real-
istically reflect the relative level of prices and costs in dif-
ferent countries, and that they be flexible enough to re-
spond to changes, over time, in such relationships; 
Whereas currency manipulation by the People’s Republic of 
China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, the major 
Asian trading partners of the United States, has contrib-
uted significantly to the loss of United States manufac-
turing jobs since July 2000;
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Whereas 
these 
countries 
hold, 
in 
the 
aggregate, 
$1,210,000,000,000 of currency reserves, half of which 
have been bought since 1999; 
Whereas currency manipulation effectively subsidizes all ex-
ports to the United States, and places additional de facto 
tariffs on all imports of goods and services from the 
United States; 
Whereas in its 2003 annual report, the globally respected 
Bank of International Settlements criticized those cur-
rency practices of Asian countries that seek to maintain 
large trade surpluses; 
Whereas the International Monetary Fund has also criticized 
the buildup of Asian currency reserves as destabilizing 
and advocated a floating exchange rate for the People’s 
Republic of China; 
Whereas for decades the International Monetary Fund and 
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade have pro-
scribed trade-distorting currency manipulation; 
Whereas Article IV, Section 1(iii) of the Articles of Agree-
ment of the International Monetary Fund cautions mem-
bers to ‘‘avoid manipulating exchange rates . . . in order 
. . . to gain an unfair competitive advantage over other 
members’’, and a related provision defines manipulation 
to include ‘‘protracted large-scale intervention in one di-
rection in the exchange market’’; 
Whereas Article XV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and 
Trade 1994 (as defined in section 2 of the Uruguay 
Round Agreements Act), which is binding on members of 
the World Trade Organization, states that members 
‘‘shall not by exchange rate action frustrate the intent of 
the provisions of this Agreement’’, and the objective of
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that Agreement, as stated in broad terms in its preamble, 
is ‘‘entering into reciprocal and mutually advantageous 
arrangements directed to the substantial reduction of tar-
iffs and other barriers to trade and to the elimination of 
discriminatory treatment in international commerce’’; 
Whereas China has been manipulating the value of its cur-
rency by pegging its exchange rate to the United States 
dollar; 
Whereas China has refused to make any changes to its cur-
rency peg; 
Whereas United States manufacturers doing business in 
China continue to face other market barriers and unfair 
trade practices, including high tariffs, subsidies, technical 
trade restrictions, counterfeiting, tied trade, violations of 
intellectual property rights, and nonmarket-based indus-
trial policies that limit United States exports and in-
crease import competition; 
Whereas the International Monetary Fund has advised China 
to adopt a more flexible exchange rate policy, and has 
judged that such a change would not have serious ad-
verse consequences for that country; 
Whereas China’s current dollar accumulations now exceed 
$350,000,000,000 and are growing at the rate of 
$120,000,000,000 each year—an amount that approxi-
mates China’s trade surplus with the Unites States; 
Whereas China is engaged in massive currency intervention, 
through huge purchases of United States dollars, to keep 
the yuan from appreciating, despite large trade surpluses 
and investment inflows;
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Whereas this intervention has maintained the Chinese yuan 
at its artificially low 1994 value—which by some esti-
mates is 40 percent below its market value; and 
Whereas the magnitude of the distorting effects are clear: un-
less addressed immediately, China’s currency manipula-
tion and unfair trading practices could further weaken 
the manufacturing sector in the United States and spawn 
(1) massive United States trade deficits, and (2) calls for 
protectionism, which would undermine the global econ-
omy: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That— 
(1) the Congress declares that manufacturing is 
an industry critical to the future well-being and na-
tional security of the United States and, therefore, 
the United States Government should make greater 
efforts to promote innovation, reduce manufacturing 
costs, and level the international playing field for 
this sector; 
(2) the Congress believes that the clear inten-
tion of the manipulation by Asian countries of their 
currencies is to increase exports and restrict im-
ports, that is, to introduce an artificial element that 
assures that there will not be a level playing field for 
international trade; 
(3) the Congress further believes that the ma-
nipulation by the People’s Republic of China of its
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currency violates Article XV (4) of the General 
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (as defined in 
section 2 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act), 
and is unjustifiable and unreasonable, and burdens 
and restricts United States commerce, under section 
301 of the Trade Act of 1974; 
(4) in order to help achieve greater equity in 
competitive conditions and international trade prac-
tices, the Congress calls on the President—
(A) to vigorously enforce United States 
laws that provide remedies to counteract the 
unfair foreign practice of currency manipula-
tion; and 
(B) to encourage the harmonization of an 
international exchange rate policy of freely 
floating exchange rates based on market forces, 
where government currency intervention is kept 
to a minimum; 
(5) the executive branch should take steps that 
enable the dollar and other major currencies to move 
toward their equilibrium rates by correcting market 
imperfections, countering foreign currency manipula-
tion, and seeking cooperation among major countries 
in taking appropriate coordinated actions;
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(6) the Congress commends the recent actions 
and statements by the President and the Secretary 
of the Treasury that have delivered a strong mes-
sage from the United States Government that the 
United States expects its trading partners to treat 
the people, producers, workers, farmers, and manu-
facturers of the United States fairly; 
(7) the Congress believes that—
(A) the currency of a country should be 
controlled by the market and should reflect the 
true values of the economy of that country; and 
(B) the management of currencies at un-
natural rates distorts markets and encourages 
protectionism; 
(8) the Congress has directed the General Ac-
counting Office to undertake an ongoing review of 
currency manipulation practices worldwide and their 
impact on the agriculture and manufacturing sectors 
in the United States; 
(9) the Secretary of the Treasury should ensure 
that each semiannual report due to the Congress on 
international economic and exchange rate policies 
addresses the full range of currency manipulation 
practices of foreign governments;
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(10) the Congress strongly urges the United 
States Trade Representative to take action under 
section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to combat un-
fair currency manipulation practices in order to pro-
tect United States commerce and to gain access to 
foreign markets for United States goods and serv-
ices, should negotiations fail to produce meaningful 
results; and 
(11) the Congress encourages the President to 
review all other tools to level the playing field with 
respect to currency manipulation.
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