WASHINGTON, DC. – Today, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) released the following statement in response to the Administration’s first report required by the Customs law on the foreign exchange policies of major trading partners:

“The new Customs law requires the President to take action on currency manipulation. By mandating, for the first time, that the President undertake robust analysis and strong action with respect to currency manipulators, Congress has made it clear that such behavior is unacceptable because it hurts American businesses and employees.

“Today, we learned that five countries have been identified as meeting two of three criteria requiring enhanced action, which can lead to significant enforcement costs to those countries.  We will continue to watch this process closely to ensure that the President squarely addresses currency manipulation and stands up for the American people.”

Background: The Trade Facilitation and Enforcement Act of 2016, passed by the House and Senate earlier this year, requires the President, for the first time, to hold other countries accountable if they are manipulating their currency.  The Act also mandates that the President report to Congress and the American people on whether other countries meet a stringent three-part test in their currency policy.  As a result of this robust analysis, five countries (China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Germany) have been found today to meet two of the three factors requiring enhanced analysis, which can lead to significant consequences.