One of the prime reasons we have such a trade imbalance with China is that China manipulates the value of their currency. That makes manufacturing in China less expensive than it is in other industrialized nations and exporting to China more expensive. This is an unethical practice that violates the terms of our trade agreements, but to date, the US has taken no punitive action. A bill to correct that appears to be sailing through the Senate, but can it survive the powerful forces arrayed against it?

Senator Charles Schumer said overwhelming support has emerged in the Senate for legislation letting U.S. companies seek duties on imports from China to compensate for the effects of a weak yuan. “This bill is on a fast track for passage in the Senate,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, said today on a conference call with other lawmakers. “Once it passes the Senate, it’s going to be hard for the House to block it. I’m optimistic this bill can get to the president’s desk.” The Senate is scheduled to debate the legislation next week. Besides Schumer, senators backing the bill include Democrats Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Jeff Sessions of Alabama. Lawmakers have said a weak currency gives Chinese companies an unfair advantage against U.S. manufacturers and cost more than 2.8 million jobs since 2001. Schumer proposed similar measures penalizing the world’s second-largest economy in each of the past six years. None received a Senate vote… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Business Week>

According to this article, it appears to be a done deal, but there is another side to the story, an extremely rich side.

The influential Club for Growth is pressuring Republican presidential candidates and lawmakers to oppose bipartisan legislation cracking down on China’s currency policies. The anti-tax, free-market group on Thursday called on GOP presidential contenders to take a stand against the bill, authored by Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), that would slap tariffs on imports from China and other countries that artificially keep their currency low. But the real target may be Republican senators — and presidential contenders — who are leaning in favor of the bill. The Club for Growth has urged lawmakers to vote no on the bill, warning that the vote will be included in the group’s 2011 Congressional Scorecard, used to measure how fiscally conservative they are. “Sherrod Brown’s bill would result in higher costs to American consumers, and would be devastating to economic growth,” Club for Growth President Chris Chocola said in a statement. “Starting a trade war with China will have no winners and many losers. The Club for Growth instead urges Congress to pass pro-growth legislation that will reduce the cost of doing business so we can create more jobs here.”… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Politico>

And who is this Club for Growth? They are made up of mostly Banksters and hedge fund managers, who profit on speculation and the inequality that depresses wages here. Here’s an oldie with Ed Schultz and Jon Nichols in Fitzwalkerstan to explain who they are.

In short, Club for Growth just a very powerful group of extremely high-end Koch suckers.