Washington has called Beijing a currency manipulator increasing the stark trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

British news portal The Guardian reports that on Monday, August 5, the U.S. Secretary of Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, accused China of manipulating its currency «to gain unfair competitive advantage in international trade». The U.S. promised to ask the International Monetary Fund to «eliminate the unfair competitive advantage created by China’s latest actions».

The U.S. action came after China allowed its yuan to drop past the key seven-per-dollar level on Monday for the first time in more than a decade.

China’s central bank commented that the depreciation in its currency was «due to the effects of unilateralist and trade-protectionist measures and the expectations for tariffs against China».

The sharp 1.4% drop in the yuan came days after the U.S. unexpectedly promised to impose 10% tariffs on the remaining USD 300bn of Chinese imports from September 1, breaking a brief ceasefire in the trade war of the two countries.