The U.S. Commerce Department has finalized a new rule to impose anti-subsidy duties on products from countries that it has determined undervalue their currencies against the dollar, including potentially China and even Japan.
The move Monday could provide a fresh irritant in U.S.-China trade talks just weeks after the world's two largest economies signed a "phase one" trade agreement and came a day after Beijing accused Washington of spreading fear about the fast-spreading coronavirus that originated in China.
In theory, the new rule would allow the Commerce Department to impose duties on China, even though the U.S. Treasury Department recently removed its designation of China as a currency manipulator as part of the trade deal.