Obama Won't Endorse Stabenow's Trade Legislation
WASHINGTON (WWJ/AP) - President Barack Obama says China has "gamed" the world's trading system to its advantage, but he's not ready to get behind a bill that would penalize Beijing.
The Senate is considering legislation that would impose sanctions on China for undervaluing its currency.
Among the authors of the package is Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow. "We've given China more than enough time," she said.
"We've lost more than 2 million jobs because they cheat on this policy. And we're told that we could, within the next two years, create 1.6 million jobs just simply making sure that the rules are fair and our companies have the chance to compete on a fair playing field," Stabenow said.
Stabenow wants to crack down on currency manipulation, create a trade prosecutor, and stop the theft of American ideas and technologies.
"No question, [the Chinese] are our largest banker, but we are their largest customer. They want to sell their products to us, even at time when they've not allowed us to sell to them," said Stabenow.
"It's our job to fight for American businesses and American workers."
Opponents of the package say they're concerned that sanctions against China would not be upheld by the World Trade Organization.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
