Last year, Graham's and Schumer's legislation to impose stiff sanctions on China unless it alters its trade and foreign exchange policies was approved by the Senate on a 67 to 33 vote. For procedural reasons, the senators then withdrew the amendment. But they said in November that they will bring up the bill this spring no later than March 31, unless they believe that China is making significant reforms. The Schumer-Graham bill calls for a 180-day negotiation period between the U.S. and China to revalue the yuan to market levels. If those talks fail, a temporary across-the-board tariff of 27.5% would be applied to all Chinese products entering the U.S. The senators argue that China artificially pegs its currency below its true value making Chinese goods cheaper in the world marketplace. The Bush administration has said the sanctions bill is not needed, adding that it is making progress in bilateral talks with China. "I haven't seen any progress," Graham added.