MOFCOM threatens US with retaliation if currency bill is passed

China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said that Beijing will retaliate against the US if a mooted bill which threatens to slap tarriffs on China to counteract an undervalued yuan comes into law, state media reported. “If [the bill] eventually passes and becomes law, we cannot ignore it and will definitely reciprocate in kind,” said He Ning, director-general of the Department of American & Oceanian Affairs at MOFCOM. “We have readied ourselves with measures to deal with the possible outcome from the US.” The bill, which targets export countries with allegedly undervalued currencies, passed the Democrat-controlled US Senate but is likely to face stiff resistance in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. China’s currency was effectively de-pegged from the US dollar in June 2010, but its rate of appreciation – 3.7% this year, not including inflation – has been too slow for many US politicians.