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The April 20 editorial “Trade pact showdown” implied that a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement with measures to stop currency manipulation by foreign governments could also constrain U.S. monetary policy, which helped us recover from the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes.

This is simply wrong. The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy in recent years, often called quantitative easing, is very different from the currency manipulation practiced by countries such as Japan over the past few decades.

The auto industry is the backbone of the Michigan economy. We have lost up to 56,000 jobs to currency manipulation by Japan, and working men and women feel it.

The United States has directly intervened in the world’s currency markets only three times in the past 20 years, all with international support during global crises. By comparison, Japan has intervened to manipulate currency, unilaterally, 376 times over the same period. Japan’s routine currency manipulation is detrimental to U.S. industries.

The editorial also incorrectly suggested that it is impossible to determine whether a country is manipulating its currency. This is simply not true. The International Monetary Fund has guidelines to determine currency manipulation. The problem is it lacks an enforcement mechanism, which is why strong currency provisions need to be part of any trade agreement.

To make a trade deal without measures to prevent currency manipulation is irresponsible and jeopardizes U.S. workers and our economy.

Debbie Dingell, Washington

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