U.S. gives China pass on currency

The U.S. Treasury Department again declined to label China a currency manipulator in a long-delayed report issued late on Thursday that is likely to provoke Congressional calls for tougher methods with Beijing

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration declined to name China a currency manipulator on Friday, even though it said the yuan was "substantially undervalued," sparking fresh calls for...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's administration faces a tough call on Friday whether to label China a currency manipulator, a move many U.S.

China Analytics submits:We still assume that US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is the only spokesman in Washington whose comments on the RMB carry any weight. Let’s also assume that the current Murphy-Ryan legislation under consideration in the US Congress is but a puff of hot air that will never go anywhere because the methods used to calculate CNY undervaluation would probably not pass a formal legal challenge under WTO rules.

The US Treasury Department issued its (supposedly) Semiannual Report on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policies late this afternoon, in which it can deem countries to be "currency manipulators" under Sections 3004 and 3005 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988.

Edward Harrison submits:The U.S. Senate will pass legislation geared to pressuring China to revalue its currency and the US is set to label China a currency manipulator. The view in Washington ahead of the mid-terms is that China is "the bad guy" as Paul Krugman explains in the video below. Here is a synopsis of the Krugman position:Complete Story »