ATLANTA, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Pacific Rim trading partners plan to sign a pledge not to devalue their currencies to make their exports cheaper, in tandem with a regional trade deal, a person familiar with the discussion said on Monday.
Countries were working towards a commitment to have a higher standard with regard to their exchange rate policies, promising not to use their currencies to promote competitive devaluation, the person said.
The agreement would be made in parallel with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal freeing up trade flows among 12 nations, including the United States and Japan.
The proposal seeks to assuage concerns in the U.S. Congress about exchange rate manipulation by countries including Japan. U.S. carmakers are worried that the weak yen gives Japanese competitors an advantage.
But it falls short of the sanctions that many lawmakers and the U.S. auto industry had demanded for breaches of the rules and may complicate passage by Congress of the TPP.
The proposed agreement would commit TPP members to disclose more information about currency practices and policies and set up regular meetings of officials to discuss currency issues, the person said. The meetings would likely be held at least once a year.