WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Monday formally named China a currency manipulator, accusing Beijing of weakening the yuan as the two countries’ trade war escalates.
The move came as China earlier on Monday allowed its currency to fall to its weakest levels against the dollar in almost a decade, prompting irate Twitter outbursts from US President Donald Trump and sending global equities markets diving into the red.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin “under the auspices of President Trump, has today determined that China is a currency manipulator,” the US Treasury Department said in a statement.
The yuan fell below 7 to the dollar on Monday, days after Trump announced plans to raise tariffs on another $300 billion in Chinese imports, while accusing Beijing of failing to live up to commitments in negotiations to end the two nation’s year-long trade war.
The move marked a sudden change of US policy.
Trump had campaigned on a pledge to designate China a currency manipulator, but since he took office the Treasury had refrained from doing so — until Monday.
As a result, Mnuchin will engage the International Monetary Fund “to eliminate the unfair competitive advantage created by China’s latest actions,” the Treasury said.
In its most recent report, the department had kept China on a “monitoring list” of countries subject to close scrutiny due to their currency practices.
© Agence France-Presse
