Congress Takes on Trade; Bush Stays Quiet

Congress is finally starting to wake up to the fact that our country's free trade policies are unfair. The Associated Press reports today that for the second time in two days Congress "gave notice to both China and the Bush administration that it will take action if nothing is done about undervalued Chinese currency that gives Chinese goods an advantage over American competition."

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), one of the heroes in the fight for fair trade, said "We are playing by the rules. We think the Chinese government is cheating." He introduced a bill that defines exchange rate manipulation as a prohibited export subsidy and sets guidelines for U.S. agencies to sanction China.

Interestingly, Ryan is peeling off some Republicans. For instance, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) co-sponsored the bill. He "expressed concern that China was using the billions of dollars amassed from currency manipulation to buy advanced weaponry from Russia and other countries."

Nonetheless, there has been no word from the White House on this. Instead, President Bush continues to push America's current corporate free trade policy that has allowed this mess to happen.