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Rep. Sander Levin, a Michigan Democrat, explains in an interview why hes insisting currency-manipulation language be included in a Pacific trade deal

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) Rep. Sander Levin says he respects Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, but on one particular issue, shes wrong.

We need to face up to this basic issue, Levin, a Michigan Democrat, says about including currency obligations in trade deals specifically, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim nations are now trying to agree to the final terms of that trade partnership.

Currency impacts jobs, Levin told MarketWatch in an interview. Currency should not be the tool of one country against another.

Levin, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, spoke with MarketWatch on Thursday about Yellens opposition to currency-manipulation language in trade agreements; the status of talks on both trade promotion authority and the Trans-Pacific Partnership; and why he believes Congress needs leverage over the contents of trade deals. Trade promotion authority, or fast track, would let the president negotiate trade deals Congress could not amend.

Here is a condensed and edited Q&A between Levin and MarketWatch:

MarketWatch: There have been reports negotiators are getting close to a deal on trade promotion authority. What do you know about the status of a TPA deal and also, how much work remains on the Trans-Pacific Partnership?

Levin: I dont know the status; you hear different stories every day. I think the key is whats being negotiated in TPP. Thats the real issue. It would cover 40% of the GDP of the world and include, now, Japan. It would include new economies with whom weve never negotiated a trade agreement. And there are issues that have never really been seriously considered in multilateral agreements for example, state-owned enterprises. And also, while there have been through our efforts basic labor and environmental provisions the May 10 standard that essentially was written by some House Democrats while that is now in the negotiation mix, how it would be implemented is also critical.

This is an important negotiation and its really vital to get it right. Negotiations can go both ways in trade; it isnt automatic that trade is a plus. It can be a plus if its shaped the correct way; it can be a minus if it isnt. So I think the appropriate focus at this point needs to be on the contents of TPP, where it is, where its short, and where it can be made better and involving in a meaningful way Congress as a partner.

MarketWatch: Looking back at past trade deals, critics say NAFTA, for example, allowed American jobs to be shipped overseas. So how do you make the case that deals like the TPP would be good for the middle class?

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Capitol Report: U.S. must face up and include currency in trade deal, Levin says