White House Says Would Veto Trade Bill If Currency Amendment is Added
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday the President would consider vetoing the entire trade authority bill if an amendment co-sponsored by Sens. Rob Portman and Debbie Stabenow were to pass. A vote an amendment that would target countries that manipulate the value of their currency to improve the prices of their exports could come as soon as this week in the Senate, Politico reports. Under Portman's amendment, countries would be held to standards set by the International Monetary Fund. The amendment, Earnest said during Tuesday's briefing, would "undermine the ability of the Federal Reserve" and if it were to come across the president's desk he would "even take the extraordinary step of vetoing the TPA bill.", "The president would certainly not support that kind of provision," Earnest said Tuesday, though he said there are additional amendments the administration is open to considering.