Progressive Caucus Statement on Prime Minister Abe's Address

Statement

Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) released the following statement after Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe addressed a joint session of Congress.

"While we appreciate hearing directly from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today, the fact remains that a Trans-Pacific Partnership without enforceable protections against currency manipulators will leave working families behind. In 2013, currency manipulation by Japan, which held down the price of the Yen in relation to the dollar, displaced nearly 900,000 American jobs. But President Obama says draft text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership doesn't include enforceable currency manipulation chapters.

"If the Administration wants the U.S. to lead good trade deals, we must include rules to stop Japan and other countries from inflating the value of the dollar. Congress should not be asked to fast track a Pacific trade deal without a chapter on currency manipulation."

In March, the CPC called for enforceable currency manipulation protections in its Principles for Trade, a model to put working Americans first in trade negotiations.

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