BY CATHY HE, EPOCH TIMES
President Donald Trump on Aug. 5 criticized the Chinese regime for letting the yuan fall to the key 7-per-U.S. dollar level for the first time in more than a decade, days after he vowed to slap tariffs on another $300 billion of Chinese imports.
“China dropped the price of their currency to an almost [sic] a historic low. It’s called “currency manipulation.” Are you listening Federal Reserve? This is a major violation which will greatly weaken China over time!” he wrote in a tweet on Aug. 5.
Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump
China dropped the price of their currency to an almost a historic low. It’s called “currency manipulation.” Are you listening Federal Reserve? This is a major violation which will greatly weaken China over time!73K8:12 AM – Aug 5, 2019
Beijing on Aug. 5 let the yuan drop 1.4 percent to breach the 7-per-dollar level, triggering concerns that the trade dispute will spill over into a currency war.
Days earlier, Trump announced that he would impose 10 percent tariffs on $300 billion of currently untariffed Chinese imports beginning on Sept. 1. U.S. officials said that Trump was unsatisfied with the progress of recent trade talks, after the two sides wrapped up negotiations in Shanghai last week.Related Coverage US Designates China as Currency Manipulator for First Time in Decades.
The United States currently has tariffs of 25 percent on $250 billion of Chinese goods. The planned tariffs would cover virtually all remaining Chinese imports which includes smartphones, apparel, toys, and other consumer goods.
The Chinese regime on Aug. 2 vowed to retaliate if the tariffs proceed.
Trump, in another tweet on Aug. 5, criticized the regime for its unfair trade practices and currency manipulation. The president has repeatedly accused Beijing of artificially weakening its currency to offset the effects of U.S. tariffs on its exports.
“China is intent on continuing to receive the hundreds of Billions of Dollars they have been taking from the U.S. with unfair trade practices and currency manipulation. So one-sided, it should have been stopped many years ago!” he wrote.
Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump
China is intent on continuing to receive the hundreds of Billions of Dollars they have been taking from the U.S. with unfair trade practices and currency manipulation. So one-sided, it should have been stopped many years ago!51.7K12:00 PM – Aug 5, 2019
Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump
Based on the historic currency manipulation by China, it is now even more obvious to everyone that Americans are not paying for the Tariffs – they are being paid for compliments of China, and the U.S. is taking in tens of Billions of Dollars! China has always….
Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump
….used currency manipulation to steal our businesses and factories, hurt our jobs, depress our workers’ wages and harm our farmers’ prices. Not anymore!59.8K11:58 AM – Aug 5, 2019
Disputes over China’s trade practices are what caused the United States to initiate tariffs on Chinese goods last year.
They remain a sticking point in ongoing trade negotiations.
White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said Aug. 4 that Beijing must address the “seven deadly sins” in order for the United States to drop tariffs on Chinese goods.
“It’s: Stop stealing our intellectual property, stop forcing technology transfers, stop hacking our computers and steal our trade secrets, stop dumping into our markets and putting our companies out of business, stop their state-owned enterprises from heavy subsidies, stop the fentanyl, stop the currency manipulation,” Navarro told Fox News.
“These are all structural changes.”
The two sides are expected to meet for further trade talks in September.
![Strong labor data and positive expectations about the incoming Trump administration pushed the U.S. dollar to a two-year high on Thursday. The U.S. dollar iIndex hit a high of 109.53 on Jan. 2, the first trading day of the year, and the highest since November 2022. The jump came as data released on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor showed that initial jobless claims hit an eight-month low, suggesting a robust labor market, which is a positive sign for the overall economy. The dollar index was trading slightly lower on Friday at 108.96 as of 08:30 a.m. EST. The dollar index increase is also supported by investor confidence in the upcoming Trump administration, which assumes power this month. According to a recent survey by consulting company Teneo, “global CEOs and investors are optimistic about the economic impact of a second Trump administration, outweighing concerns about tariffs, geopolitical tensions, and trade barriers.” Story continues below advertisement In fact, “50 percent of global CEOs are accelerating activities in areas such as domestic and international investment and hiring based on the outcome of the 2024 U.S. election,” it said. While the dollar strengthened, the euro and sterling declined on Thursday. The euro fell to its lowest level in more than two years while the sterling declined to its lowest in eight months. A Dec. 17 report from JP Morgan predicts the U.S. dollar to reach even new highs over the coming months. Related Stories How Major US Stock Indexes Fared Jan. 2 1/2/2025 How Major US Stock Indexes Fared Jan. 2 Americans Have Hopes Trump Will Deliver on Immigration, Economy, Safety: Gallup 1/2/2025 Americans Have Hopes Trump Will Deliver on Immigration, Economy, Safety: Gallup “November’s election outcome has given way to lower global growth expectations, wider growth gaps between the U.S. and the rest of the world, and higher terminal federal funds rate forecasts for 2025—the perfect trifecta of bullish U.S. dollar cyclical impulse,” said Meera Chandan, co-head of Global FX Strategy at the company. “These are early first-order reactions that may give way to deeper rethinks once the full set of Trump administration policies are known next year [2025], but for now, they constitute a solid economic rationale for carrying a long U.S. dollar stance into the first quarter of 2025.” JP Morgan sees the euro’s outlook as bearish, noting the eurozone is especially vulnerable to trade conflicts. And while sterling was the best-performing currency against the dollar last year, such an outperformance is not expected this year, it said. US Economy Performance in 2025 With President-elect Donald Trump set to take power in less than three weeks, there are mixed views about how things could shape up for the American economy. According to a Dec. 9 post by Morgan Stanley, markets are “bullish on Trump’s second term, hoping for tax cuts and better growth.” “We expect no net stimulus and a decent size hit from tariffs and immigration. This should be bullish for bonds as the Fed continues cutting, but could be a disappointment for frothy stocks,” it said. Regarding tariffs, the most likely outcome is a 20 percent hike on Chinese imports and on vehicles from Mexico and the European Union, Morgan Stanley said. Story continues below advertisement It predicts the U.S. Federal Reserve to continue cutting interest rates to a range of 3 percent 3.5 percent by the end of 2025. S&P Global is forecasting the U.S. economy to grow by 2 percent in 2025 and 2026, following an estimated growth of 2.7 percent last year. The company sees inflation to likely remain above the 2 percent level for “longer than we previously thought.” Goldman Sachs predicts the U.S. economy to “beat expectations” this year. “The U.S. economy is in a good place,” said David Mericle, an economist with the company. “Recession fears have diminished, inflation is trending back toward 2 percent, and the labor market has rebalanced but remains strong.” While Trump’s policy changes are likely to be “significant,” Mericle does not see these actions changing the trajectory of the economy substantially. Goldman foresees the Fed reducing interest rates to a range of 3.25–3.50 percent, with the U.S. GDP predicted to grow by 2.5 percent. There have been three consecutive quarters of economic growth in the first nine months of 2024—1.6 percent in the first quarter, 3 percent in the second, and 3.1 percent in the third.](https://www.usnn.news/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/US-Dollar-Index-Hits-Highest-Level-in-2-Years-Euro-Falls-150x150.jpg "US Dollar Index Hits Highest Level in 2 Years, Euro Falls | USNN World News")
