U.S. Removes China’s Currency Manipulator Label As Phase One Trade Deal Looms

The Treasury Department removed the label of currency manipulator from China Monday.

The change comes as part of the Treasury Department’s semi-annual report on “Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners.” It comes just two days before China and the U.S. are expected to sign a phase one trade deal at the White House.

“China has made enforceable commitments to refrain from competitive devaluation, while promoting transparency and accountability,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement Monday.

The report concluded that while the currency practices of ten countries were found to require close attention, no major U.S. trading partner at this time met the relevant 1988 or 2015 legislative criteria for currency manipulation. The “monitor” list includes:  China, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland, and Vietnam.