WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? A senior Republican senator on Wednesday pressed the Obama administration to state its position on a bill to crack down on China's currency practices that senators will vote on next week.
"Before the Senate moves forward, it's imperative that the 100 members of this body have a full understanding of the Administration's views on this legislation," Senator Orrin Hatch said in a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.
Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, asked for a written reply by late Monday afternoon, just before the Senate is scheduled to vote on taking up the bill.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters on Monday that the Senate planned to take up the bipartisan legislation next week and he felt "very confident" it would be approved.
A key provision of the Senate bill would instruct the Commerce Department to treat undervalued currencies as a subsidy under U.S. trade law, allowing companies to ask for countervailing duties against imports on a case-by-case basis.
In order to become law, the bill would have to be passed also by the House of Representatives and then be signed by President Barack Obama.
House Republican leaders have not signaled any desire to take up the legislation, although many rank-and-file Republican support taking action against China on the currency front.
The Obama administration so far has been silent on the measure, following a pattern it displayed last year when the then Democratic-controlled House passed a similar bill.
(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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