US Senate passes enforcement bill as trade impasse eases

The US Senate voted today to impose strict enforcement measures on international trade, including currency manipulation restrictions, as lawmakers broke an impasse on helping President Barack Obama complete a landmark Pacific trade accord.
Democrats created tension this week when they refused to allow Obama to present the Trans-Pacific Partnership to Congress for a swift up or down vote, without changes.
Democrats argued that the so-called trade promotion authority (TPA) bill ignored some of their priorities, including ensuring that American jobs were protected from imports unfairly priced due to currency manipulation.
But after intense negotiations lawmakers produced a compromise yesterday in which Democrats got votes, ahead of the TPA consideration at 2:00 pm (1800 GMT), on two bills reflecting their priorities.

Senators voted 78 to 20 to pass the so-called customs enforcement bill.
It now heads to the House of Representatives, where its chance of passage took a hit today when Speaker John Boehner dismissed as "laughable" the prospect of Congress legislating currency valuations between countries.

Some lawmakers say the measure seeking to prevent some governments from manipulating their currency's value in order to gain trade advantage is aimed at Asian giants China and Japan.
The currency bill is "a shot across China's bow that we're not going to just sit there and do nothing," Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said.
"Americans should not be patsies for other countries cheating," added Senator Sherrod Brown.

The bill also closes a child labor loophole, and beefs up other customs enforcement priorities including anti-dumping rules.