House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, warns that new legislation imposing higher tariffs on Chinese products could start a trade war.

The bill passed the Senate with bipartisan support Tuesday. The 65-63 vote showed that U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle think it's time to end diplomatic niceties with China and confront it over its aggressive trade policies.

"There are always people who don't want to stand up to China and I think they are, frankly, undercutting our ability to stop the hemorrhaging in our manufacturing jobs," Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said.

"This is a country manipulating its currency for an advantage in the export market," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said.

"The Chinese manipulation of the yuan has cost this country at least 2 million jobs - 41,000 in South Carolina - and it is an unfair trade practice in another name," he said.

However, Boehner and the Republican majority will likely block the bill in the House.

The speaker said that in today's world economy, passing the measure could have "unintended consequences."

Chinese officials have also spoken out against the bill, saying it would "severely damage" trade ties between the U.S. and China.