The US Treasury Department has officially designated China a currency manipulator, after Beijing let the RMB drop to its lowest level in 11 years, reported the South China Morning Post.
The designation came after China let the RMB weaken to under RMB 7 to the dollar on Monday, shaking markets around the world.
Under the auspices of President Trump, has today determined that China is a Currency Manipulator, said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a statement after the markets closed, adding that it will work with the International Monetary Fund “to eliminate the unfair competitive advantage created by China’s latest actions.”
The Treasury Department justified its actions by citing China’s “concrete steps” in recent days to devalue its currency while maintaining substantial foreign exchange reserves. “The context of these actions and the implausibility of China’s market stability rationale confirm that the purpose of China’s currency devaluation is to gain an unfair competitive advantage in international trade,” it added in the statement.
