Treasury Dept. designates China a ‘currency manipulator,’ a major escalation of the trade war

The United States and China traded blows in an unrestrained economic conflict Monday that sent stock markets plunging and threatened to inflict significant damage on a weakening global economy.

Late in the day, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin formally labeled China a “currency manipulator,” a largely symbolic slap at Beijing that is likely to deepen the growing animosity between the two trading partners.

The move, which President Trump had promised to take on his first day in office, requires Treasury only to initiate consultations with China. Beijing has long denied U.S. accusations that it keeps its currency undervalued to make its products more competitive on world markets.

View the complete August 5 article by David J. Lynch, Gerry Shih, Jeff Stein and Damian Paletta on The Washington Post website here.