Apropos of Jared Bernstein’s comments the other week, Simon Johnson writing in Economix:

Representative Sander Levin of Michigan, the senior Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over many trade issues, proposed this week that the United States make a significant change in its approach to international trade. The United States is in the middle of trade negotiations that, while still somewhat under the political radar and seldom on the front pages, have the potential to affect the economy – and many people’s jobs – in ways that could be quite negative or somewhat positive.

Mr. Levin made three main proposals that are directly relevant for the negotiations between the United States and countries on the Pacific Rim, aiming to sign a Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement…

The first point is that enforceable labor and environmental standards need to be given more emphasis in American trade agreements with other nations…

Mr. Levin’s second point is just as compelling. Japan has just joined the Pacific Rim negotiations, in part no doubt hoping that American tariffs on Japanese cars and trucks will be lowered. But it should not escape American negotiators that despite many years of promises, the Japanese automotive market – for both completed vehicles and components – remains very much closed to foreigners… Mr. Levin is talking about removing government distortions, and this is why I expect he may receive a great deal of Republican support…

… Mr. Levin’s third proposal will really hit a nerve. There are countries that manipulate their exchange rate – lowering (or depreciating, in technical jargon) its value in order to gain a competitive advantage, increasing exports and reducing imports relative to what they would otherwise be… Again, the issue is cheating within the system, with governments’ getting away with actions that distort markets on a grand scale…If a country manipulates its currency to gain an unfair advantage, the tariff on its goods and services sold to the United States would rise back to the level that would have existed without the free trade agreement, Mr. Levin proposes…

This is a targeted and responsible proposal. It should get support from both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill. The Obama administration needs Democratic and Republican votes to get the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and other trade deals adopted.