As far as shots across the bow go, this is some shot.<br />Following the plunge in the value of the Chinese yuan on Monday, the Trump administration has taken the stunning step of officially designating China a currency manipulator.<br />For some context,... the last time the U.S. took such a step,... Bill Clinton was still in the White House.<br />Some analysts say the situation has now shifted from a mere trade war to an all-out currency war.<br />Kim Hyo-sun reports.<br /><br />The U.S. Department of Treasury has designated China as currency manipulator,... a historic move that no administrations has exercised since 1994.<br />Based on its decision,... the Treasury Department said in a statement Monday that Secretary Steven Mnuchin will engage with the International Monetary Fund to eliminate the unfair competitive advantage created by Beijing's currency moves.<br />He also said Beijing's pattern of actions is also a violation of China’s G20 commitments to refrain from competitive devaluation of its currency.<br />This follows President Trump's strong criticism against Beijing on Monday made as the Chinese yuan dropped to its lowest levels against the U.S. dollar in 11 years.<br />He said in a tweet that this is called (quote) "currency manipulation."<br />He also expressed his dissatisfaction in the U.S. Federal Reserve,... continuing to push the Fed to cut interest rates to weaken the strong dollar.<br />He also slammed China for stealing American businesses and factories, hurting American jobs,... through its currency manipulation.<br />The yuan dropped and crossed the psychologically sensitive level of seven to the U.S. greenback on Monday,... the lowest level since the global financial crisis in 2008.<br />His comments come less than three months after his own administration decided not to label China a currency manipulator.<br />They also come just days after Trump proposed an additional ten percent tariff on Chinese imports worth 300 billion dollars that would take effect on September 1st.<br />Some analysts forecast Beijing's tinkering with the yuan and the rapid U.S. designation of China as a currency manipulator could trigger an all-out currency war between Washington and Beijing.<br />Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News.<br />
