China not a currency manipulator according to US Treasury report

US Treasury staff has not labeled China as a currency manipulator in its recommendation for the department's semiannual report on foreign exchange rate practices.

BENGALURU: US Treasury staff has not labeled China as a currency manipulator in its recommendation for the department's semiannual report on foreign exchange rate practices, according to media reports on Thursday.

In an internal report submitted to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the department did not say that Beijing is manipulating the yuan, but it continued to place China on a monitoring list, Politico reported, citing an administration official familiar with the report. https://politi.co/2OlFL1R

Separately, Bloomberg reported, citing two people familiar with the matter, that the U.S. Treasury's staff had advised Mnuchin that China is not manipulating the yuan as the Trump administration prepares to issue the closely watched report on Monday.

It is possible that Mnuchin could still revise the final report, according to the reports.

A U.S. Treasury spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the reports.

During his campaign for the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump promised to label China as a currency manipulator, which would trigger special negotiations and could lead to punitive duties and other actions.

However, the U.S. Treasury has declined to name China a manipulator in the three semiannual currency reports it has sent to Congress since Trump took office early last year.