The United States has designated China as a currency manipulator, the latest salvo in an escalating trade war between the world's two biggest economies. 
 
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the decision in a statement Monday, saying the designation was made by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin under the auspices of President Donald Trump.
 
The statement accuses China of taking “concrete steps to devalue its currency,” and says that Mnuchin will “engage with the International Monetary Fund(IMF) to eliminate the unfair competitive advantage created by China’s latest actions.”

It’s the first time the U.S. has named another country a currency manipulator since China was labeled as such in 1994.

The BBC notes that the designation is largely symbolic, as Washington’s two primary resolution mechanisms in such an event -- negotiations and tariffs -- are already in motion.

However, the currency manipulator status may lead to greater IMF surveillance of China's currency practices and the denial of Chinese companies from certain U.S. development funds.
 
The move comes after Trump announced last week via Twitter that an additional ten-percent tariff would be levied on 300-billion U.S. dollars of Chinese imports from September.

China retaliated, halting purchases of U.S. farm products and letting its currency weaken below the psychologically sensitive level of seven yuan to the dollar on Monday, the lowest rate since 2008.