US DESIGNATES CHINA A CURRENCY MANIPULATOR
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday designated China as a currency manipulator following a devaluation of China’s currency in another move further escalating the trade war.
A Treasury Department news release referred to “concrete steps” China has taken in recent days to devalue its currency, while maintaining substantial foreign exchange reserves.
The department alleges that
the purpose of China’s currency devaluation is to gain an unfair competitive advantage in international trade.
The Treasury Department also said that a People’s Bank of China’s statement earlier Monday openly acknowledged that the bank “has extensive experience manipulating its currency and remains prepared to do so on an ongoing basis.”
The department said these actions also violate China’s G20 commitments to refrain from competitive devaluation.
The Chinese government allowed the yuan to fall below the 7 to the dollar mark for the first time in a decade, days after Beijing warned that it would retaliate over new tariffs announced last week by US President Donald Trump.
The move worried analysts, who have previously seen the 7 to the dollar mark as a “red line” for the central bank, which keeps close tabs on the nation’s currency.
The People’s Bank of China said the weakening of its currency was in response to “unilateralism and trade protectionism measures,” but stressed that the rising and falling of currencies was normal.
China’s announcement already sent shocks through global stock exchanges as fears mounted over worsening trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies. US markets erased two months of gains and posted their worst single day all year.
DPA, 06TH AUGUST, 2019