US accuses Vietnam of currency manipulation, adds India, Taiwan, Thailand to watch list

Name: Is China a currency manipulator?
Uploaded: 2020-12-16T15:45:12.000Z
Duration: 1 min 16 s
Description: Is China a currency manipulator?

Vietnam was named alongside Switzerland as having intervened deeply in currency markets to prevent effective balance of payments adjustments, US Treasury said

It also added three new countries to its ‘monitoring list’ that already includes China, Japan, Korea, Germany, Italy, Singapore and Malaysia

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Motorists and a street vendor ride down a street in Hanoi. Photo: AFP

Reuters

Published: 11:45pm, 16 Dec 2020Updated: 12:40am, 17 Dec 2020

The US Treasury has labelled Vietnam and Switzerland as currency manipulators, and added three new names to a watch list of countries it suspects of taking measures to devalue their currencies against the dollar.

In what may be one of the last broadsides to international trading partners by the departing administration of President Donald Trump, the US Treasury said that in the year through June 2020 Switzerland and Vietnam had intervened heavily in currency markets to prevent effective balance of payments adjustments.

In response to the allegation by the US Treasury, the Swiss National Bank said it does not manipulate its currency and its monetary policy approach would be unchanged, adding that it “remains willing to intervene more strongly in the foreign exchange market”.

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Is China a currency manipulator?

Vietnam’s trade ministry declined to comment on the report and referred questions to the foreign ministry.

The Treasury also said its “monitoring list” of countries that meet some of the criteria has hit 10, with the additions of India, Taiwan and Thailand. Others on the list include China, Japan, Korea, Germany, Italy, Singapore and Malaysia.

The report also said that India and Singapore had also intervened in the foreign exchange market in a “sustained, asymmetric manner” but did not meet other requirements to warrant designation as manipulators.

The US agency’s semi-annual currency manipulation report said that at least part of Vietnam’s foreign exchange intervention was aimed at pushing down the dong for a trade advantage, while at least part of Switzerland’s action was aimed at pushing down the Swiss franc to prevent effective balance of payments adjustments.