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Status: Will be live at 04/07/2017 00:00

US Policy Update: On Currency Manipulation

Friday, April 7, 2017

During his presidential campaign, President Trump pledged to declare China a currency manipulator. This has not happened yet. President Trump may try to follow through on his campaign promise, however under current legislation this may be difficult. We explore the policy toolkit that the White House has on "currency manipulation"

  • China does not meet current Treasury criteria to be named a "currency manipulator"
  • Treasury could attempt to rejigger the criteria to capture China or other countries, though current penalties would have little impact on China
  • The Administration may instead focus on the broader trading relationship with China and "kick the can down the road" on currency issues by launching a Commerce Dept. process to declare currency manipulation as an unfair trade subsidy

 

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