RUMFORD — U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe is planning to introduce legislation aimed at what is considered unlawful currency manipulation by China.

In a written statement issued by Snowe Wednesday afternoon, she said she is convinced that the administration is not using all the trade enforcement tools available to protect Untied States manufacturers.

“The U.S. Commerce Department regularly investigates and imposes tariffs on imported products that benefit from foreign government subsidies in violation of our trade rules — but to date it has refused to even initiate an investigation into whether China’s currency practices constitute such an illegal export subsidy. The bill I plan to introduce in the coming weeks would prevent the Department from refusing to investigate allegations of currency undervaluation and clarify current law to ensure penalties are imposed on currency manipulators,” she said in the written statement.

Chinese currency manipulation can undervalue its money so that U.S. products are more expensive for the Chinese people to buy. By undervaluing its money, Chinese products are also cheaper for Americans to buy.

In September of 2010, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission agreed that tariffs should be placed on coated paper coming from China and Indonesia because the two countries subsidize paper coming into the United States.

Although Snowe was pleased with the ITC and Department of Commerce’s decisions regarding illegal subsidies, she believes the decisions didn’t go far enough.

“While the Department of Commerce did consider some aspects of these allegations, it refused to initiate an investigation into whether China’s currency practices constituted an illegal export subsidy. My bill would require the Department to actually investigate and determine on a case-by-case basis whether such currency manipulation constitutes a subsidy,” she said in her statement.

NewPage Corp., Sappi Fine Paper North America, and Appleton Coated LLC were the three coated paper companies that pushed for the tariffs because of unfair trade practices with China and Indonesia.

Janet Hall, spokeswoman for the Rumford NewPage mill, declined comment on Snowe’s planned legislation, and instead referred questions to the central office of NewPage in Miamisburg, Ohio. Shawn Hall, manager, external communications in Miamisburg, Ohio, did not respond to telephone or e-mail contacts.

Matt Bean, president of Local 900, United Steelworkers, at the Rumford mill, said all departments are currently operating round the clock. He referred comment to Ron Hemingway, recording secretary for Local 900 who had taken part in the actions last fall to get the ITC to extend temporary tariffs on Chinese and Indonesian coated paper imports for five years.

Hemingway said the same products produced by China are 40 percent cheaper than those produced by the United States because of Chinese currency manipulation.

“It’s an artificial subsidy. Sen. Snowe’s bill will certainly help the paper industry and all other U.S. manufacturers,” he said.

Because of currency manipulation and other unfair trade practices, Hemingway said the manufacturing industry has been hit the hardest of any industry.

The three paper companies filed unfair trade complaints with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission in September, 2009.

Snowe said U.S. workers are not asking for special treatment.

“This legislation is simply meant to enforce current rules to rebalance our trade relationship with China and ensure U.S. businesses are able to compete on a level playing field,” she wrote.

The local NewPage mill employs about 750-800 people, a number that has dropped by about 100 during the past couple of years, largely because of what many in the industry consider unfair trade practices.

[email protected]