WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has presented two arguments about why he’s letting China off the hook from his campaign promise to label it a currency manipulator. That move would have set the stage for a possible trade war if he had done it.
One statement is based on the idea that it makes no strategic sense to punish China when it would be needed to help rein in North Korea’s military ambitions. Many lawmakers and foreign-policy people agree with that.
The other is based on his contention that China stopped manipulating its currency when he won the election. That’s not true, or even close. China stopped artificially devaluing the yuan before he ran for president.