The Buzz | Economists: Trump’s charges against China are obsolete
Donald Trump’s latest attack on China is about three years too old.
In a column in The Wall Street Journal, the Republican presidential candidate writes that “the worst of China’s sins” is manipulating its currency, the yuan, to gain an economic advantage. Citing unidentified economists, Trump declares that the yuan is undervalued anywhere from 15 percent to 40 percent.
But the charge appears outdated. The yuan has risen against the U.S. dollar over the past five years. In May, the IMF declared the yuan “no longer undervalued.”
The Peterson Institute for International Economics says the yuan was “significantly undervalued” until mid-2012 and reached fair value last year. Peterson’s William Cline says Trump’s charge of currency manipulation is a “good talking point” but “out of date.”
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