Defying chinese anger and White House warnings:

China currency bill set to clear US Senate

US: Defying Chinese anger and White House warnings, the US Senate was set Tuesday to approve legislation to punish China for alleged currency manipulation widely blamed here for costing American jobs. The proposal, powered by a tide of US voter frustration at a sour economy and high unemployment ahead of November 2012 elections, envisions retaliatory duties on Chinese exports if the yuan’s value is unfairly “misaligned.”

The Democratic-held Senate was due to approve the measure after 5:30 pm (2130 GMT), shifting the spotlight to the Republican-led House of Representatives, where Speaker John Boehner has condemned the “dangerous” bill.

“You could start a trade war. And a trade war, given the economic uncertainty here and all around the world it’s just very dangerous, and we should not be engaged in this,” Boehner said recently.

US President Barack Obama last week stopped well short of backing the legislation and worried it could violate World Trade Organization (WTO) rules even as he mounted an unsparing attack on China’s trade policies.

AFP