U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin rejected China's market stability justification for the "concrete steps" the country has taken to devalue its currency.
According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the Secretary of the Treasury is required under Section 3004 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 "to analyze the exchange rate policies of other countries," and "consider whether countries manipulate the rate of exchange between their currency and the United States dollar for purposes of preventing effective balance of payments adjustments or gaining unfair competitive advantage in international trade." Secretary Mnuchin determined that China is a currency manipulator. The Treasury stated that Mr. Mnuchin will work with the International Monetary Fund to "eliminate the unfair competitive advantage" created by China's recent actions.
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