US declines to label China a currency manipulator, but blasts its transparency policies
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. declined to label China a currency manipulator in a new Treasury report released Thursday, but accuses Beijing of standing out among America's major trading partners for lacking transparency in its exchange rate policies.
Treasury's semi-annual report to Congress — called Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States— comes as the Trump administration seeks to strike a trade deal with China, averting a trade war that has been brewing between the two nations.
A Treasury official told reporters previewing the report that the U.S. could in the future find evidence that China is manipulating its currency and will make a determination in the fall whether China has been manipulating the renminbi, also known as RMB.
During President Donald Trump 's first term, the Treasury, which was then led by Secretary Steve Mnuchin, labeled China a currency manipulator in 2019 — before then the U.S. had not put China on the currency blacklist since 1994.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration 'has put our trading partners on notice that macroeconomic policies that incentivize an unbalanced trading relationship with the United States will no longer be accepted.'
'Moving forward, Treasury will use all available tools at its disposal to implement strong countermeasures against unfair currency practices,' he said.
The decision not to sanction China for currency manipulation comes after Trump said Thursday that his first call with China's Xi Jinping since returning to office was 'very positive,' announcing that the two countries will hold trade talks in hopes of breaking an impasse over tariffs and global supplies of rare earth minerals.
'Our respective teams will be meeting shortly at a location to be determined,' Trump wrote on his social media platform after the call, which he said lasted an hour and a half.
Trump has lowered his 145% tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% for 90 days to allow for talks. China also reduced its taxes on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%. The back and forth has caused sharp swings in global markets and threatens to hamper trade between the two countries.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Epoch Times
21 minutes ago
- Epoch Times
Trump Says Musk Will Face ‘Very Serious Consequences' If He Backs Democrats
President Donald Trump on June 7 warned that Elon Musk could face 'serious consequences' if he decides to back Democratic political candidates in upcoming elections. While Musk campaigned for Trump's 2024 presidential run and was a key member in the Trump administration's fight against fraud and waste, the two were involved in a public spat this week, apparently fueled by their disagreements over Trump's budget priorities in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Hamilton Spectator
26 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Small sport stirs up controversy in Spain as Basque Country makes its international debut
MADRID (AP) — A small sport popular in Spain's northern Basque Country has stirred up a political controversy that triggered court action and fanned the region's long-held feelings of nationalism. There has been back-and-forth spats between sports officials and politicians after the Basque Country region was allowed to compete as a nation in international competitions in pelota vasca, a sport that was in the Olympics more than 100 years ago but is now rarely seen in most parts of the world. Even sport's highest court was asked to get involved. The dispute culminated this weekend in what many had thought was an impossible scenario: The Basque Country and Spain playing against each other in an international sporting event — the pelota vasca Nations League. The Basque Country, also known as Euskadi, maintains a strong cultural identity and traditions in a region once scarred by violence. The Basque separatist movement began in the late 1950s and was led by the now-defunct militant group ETA. In 2011, the group declared a 'definitive end' to an armed conflict that killed nearly 900 people, and it officially disbanded in 2018. What is pelota vasca and who won? Pelota vasca, also known as Basque pelota, is played on a court with players using their hands and different types of rackets to hit the ball against a high wall. Depending on which version of the sport is being played, there are different court measurements — all of them with a high front wall and most with another high side wall. The biggest court is 54 meters long (177 feet long). In the Basque Country region, it's considered by many as a national sport. There were jeers when the Spanish national anthem played at the awards ceremony in the Basque Country location of Gernika-Lumo. The Basque Country won the men's final on Friday night, while Spain took the victory in the women's decider. Legal fight The sport's Spanish federation had strongly opposed the recognition of the Basque team, citing alleged illegalities in the recognition process by the international body. It denounced 'pressure, threats and coercion' against Basque players who had chosen to play for Spain. Spain eventually went to the Court of Arbitration for Sports and asked for a ruling on the legality of the changes made in the bylaws of the international federation to allow the Basque team to be recognized. The Spanish federation said it was not allowed to vote in the general assembly in late December. The CAS decision is still pending. 'It's essential to emphasize that this is not an issue against the Basque Country, but rather a matter of legality,' the Spanish federation said in one of its many statements. The Spanish federation at one point complained of a lack of government support and was especially upset when the nation's top sports official, José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, said that pelota vasca shouldn't be considered a Spanish sport in the sense that it is not played throughout the nation. The Spanish federation said the sport has an 'unquestionable national presence' with more than 10,000 athletes in the country. 'Exciting step' Politicians in the Basque Country had deemed the recognition by the international federation as historic. They had been working on making that possible for several years but lacked legal backing within local laws and statutes. 'It was unimaginable not too long ago to see these athletes wearing the Basque Country jersey in an international competition,' said Aitor Esteban, president of the Basque Nationalist Party. 'I think it's an important and exciting step. It's another step toward national recognition as a country. This international presence gives us visibility.' The Spanish federation said the Nations League can't be considered an official competition because the international federation did not meet the requirements needed to be able to host the event on Spanish soil, which included proper approval by Spanish officials. The Spanish federation said it only participated in the event out of consideration for its athletes who wanted to play and were afraid that the competition could eventually serve as a qualifier for next year's world championships in Argentina, as indicated by the international body. The Spanish federation insisted it can't be considered an official competition. The Basque federation of pelota vasca praised the fact that its national team became a 'reality.' 'We were born to grow and promote pelota vasca. It is part of our culture, of our identity and of our people,' it said. 'We look to the future with hope, the future is ours.' In addition to Spain and the Basque Country, the other participants in the Nations League were the United States, France, Mexico and the Philippines. Pelota vasca was an official Olympic sport at the 1900 Paris Games and has been a demonstration sport several times since then, most recently in Barcelona in 1992. Variations of pelota vasca include jai alai, which in the United States is mostly played in Florida. Other countries where the sport is seen include France, Argentina, Mexico and Cuba. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What we know so far: Trump and Musk's spectacular public blowup rocks Washington
President Trump's signature 'Big Beautiful Bill' has precipitated an epic fallout between the US president and one of his closest allies, billionaire Elon Musk. The blowup played out publicly on social media, with both men using their respective platforms, X and Truth Social, to exchange criticisms. Related: Eyes on Senate Republicans as Trump and Musk feud over tax and spend bill Here is a summary of how the rift unfolded, and what we know so far: Donald Trump kicked off the fight during an Oval Office meeting with German chancellor Friedrich Merz. Asked about Elon Musk's criticism of his 'Big, Beautiful Bill', the US president told reporters: 'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will any more.' Trump told reporters he was 'very disappointed in Elon', telling them: 'He knew every aspect of this bill. He knew it better than almost anybody, and he never had a problem until right after he left. … He said the most beautiful things about me, and he hasn't said bad about me personally, but I'm sure that'll be next, but I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot.' Soon after Musk posted on X denying Trump's statement, beginning a flurry of posts that stepped up his feud with the president. Musk wrote: 'False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!' He went on to claim that without him Trump would have 'lost the election' before bemoaning what he called 'such ingratitude'. The president followed up by , prompting a return threat from the SpaceX boss to decommission the Dragon spacecraft (which brought home astronauts stuck on the ISS for months), potentially throwing US space programmes into turmoil. Hours later Musk rescinded the threat. Musk also suggested Trump should be impeached and that JD Vance should replace Trump, warning that Trump's global tariffs would 'cause a recession in the second half of this year'. Musk went on to say on X the reason the had not released the files into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was because they implicated the president. The White House called the assertions an 'unfortunate episode'. Meanwhile, Steve Bannon, a longtime ally and Elon Musk critic, suggested there were grounds to deport the tech billionaire, who has US citizenship. Bannon told the New York Times: 'They should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately.' The spectacular blowout between Trump and Musk sent Tesla shares into free fall. They The decline in Tesla's share price on Thursday knocked about $8.73bn off Musk's total net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The reported $152bn drop also decreased the value of the company to roughly $900bn.
