White House rejects yuan petition

The Bush administration has rejected a call from 30 US lawmakers to take measures against China via the World Trade Organization for alleged "currency manipulation." The petition sent to the White House September 30 called on the Bush administration to file a complaint with the WTO unless Beijing moved immediately to eliminate what it described as the deliberate undervaluation of the yuan. Rejecting the petition, the US Trade Representative's office said such a move would undermine diplomatic efforts to pressure China to change its currency policies,  efforts, it said, which were showing signs of paying dividends.