Treasury Department designates China a currency manipulator
The trade war between the United States and China escalated further on Monday evening, when the U.S. Treasury Department designated China a currency manipulator after Beijing allowed its currency to slide to its lowest level in a decade.
The People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, said the yuan dropped due to President Trump's "unilateralism and trade protectionism measures and the imposition of increased tariffs on China." On Thursday, Trump said he would impose more tariffs on China, and in response, Chinese enterprises have stopped new purchases of U.S. farm goods, the state-run Xinhua News Agency said.
It's been 25 years since the United States last designated China a currency manipulator. In a statement, the Treasury Department said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin "will engage with the International Monetary Fund to eliminate the unfair competitive advantage created by China's latest actions." It's primarily a symbolic move, The New York Times points out, but China will most likely view this as an aggressive action.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
5 hilariously spirited cartoons about the spirit of Christmas
Cartoons Artists take on excuses, pardons, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Inside the house of Assad
The Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
By The Week UK Published
-
Sudoku medium: December 22, 2024
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why is China targeting Nvidia? (And why is the AI giant so important?)
Today's Big Question A new front in the 'chip war' with the US
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battle
Speed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rally
Speed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Enron mystery: 'sick joke' or serious revival?
Speed Read 23 years after its bankruptcy filing, the Texas energy firm has announced its resurrection
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Russia's currency crisis as sanctions bite
The Explainer Rouble plunges to lowest rate against dollar since invasion of Ukraine as economic toll finally begins to be felt
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
Is this the end of the free trade era?
Today's Big Question Donald Trump's threat to impose crippling tariffs 'part of a broader turn towards protectionism in the West'
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
US charges Indian tycoon with bribery, fraud
Speed Read Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by US prosecutors for his role in a $265 million scheme to secure solar energy deals
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published