This report is based on work by our partners at FactCheck.org, a nonpartisan project of the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center.
A new ad from the Mitt Romney campaign criticizes the Obama administration's dealings with China.
From the ad: "Fewer Americans are working today than when President Obama took office. It doesn't have to be this way if Obama would stand up to China."
The ad says China "steals" intellectual property from the U.S., and Obama refused to take action "seven times," contributing to the high unemployment rate in America.
The "seven times he said no" refers to the Treasury Department's semi-annual report to Congress on International economic and exchange rate policies.
FactCheck.org says linking two million lost jobs to currency manipulation is misleading.
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"The problem is that these are two different issues," said FactCheck.org Deputy Director Eugene Kiely. "The fact that he has failed to stand up to China seven times deals with the Obama administration's unwillingness to label China a currency manipulator."
The ad goes on to say that Obama's policies cost the U.S. two million jobs. FactCheck.org says this is also misleading.
“The problem with the figure of two million jobs is -- it has nothing to do with the issue of currency manipulation," Kiely said. "Where that number comes from is the International Trade Commission report that dealt with intellectual property rights. And by intellectual property rights, we’re talking about apparel and technology -– Nike and Apple for instance.“
And the report says that if China enforces U.S. intellectual property rights, that could result in two million new jobs in our current economy.
But that same report says the Obama administration has made the issue of intellectual property rights an important priority.
Romney said that labeling China a currency manipulator is something he would do on Day 1 if elected. But that promise is quite controversial, and whether it would result in jobs is open to debate.
For more information on the China issue, click here.
