US Treasury says no new China legislation needed

WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) The Bush administration does not need additional legislation to prod China to move faster to reform its currency exchange-rate policies, a senior Treasury Department official said today.

''We believe that we currently have the tools to effectively address these issues, the issue with respect to the exchange rate,'' said Alan Holmer, the Treasury department's special envoy to China.

Holmer declined to say whether Treasury would formally label China a currency manipulator in a semiannual report of foreign exchange practices of key trade partners due out on Wednesday.

But he said the administration took the issue of China's currency practices ''very seriously'' and was making an unprecedented push for faster reform by Beijing.

REUTERS DS BST2355