The Hill News

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said Monday that leaders in China "are probably laughing at" those who oppose his bill aimed at pressuring China to allow its currency to appreciate, and that "it's not a perfectly free market world like some of our free-market friends like to believe." He also said that fellow Republican Rick Perry was mistaken in his opposition to the bill.

"I think it is time for China to grow up and participate positively in the world economic order, but they are economically nationalist," Sessions said on the Laura Ingraham Show. "Now they manipulate their economy to further geopolitical goals and it’s not a perfectly free market world like some of our free market friends tend to think."

The bill is designed to pressure China to allow the renminbi to appreciate, which in turn would ease trade imbalances between the two countries and benefit American exports and unemployment. But detractors say that the bill might not work as designe! d, and could damage trade relationships with the Chinese while further destabilizing markets.

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