The US Treasury on Wednesday accused Switzerland and Vietnam of manipulating their currencies, partly to gain a trade advantage over American exports.
In the semi-annual …
The US Treasury on Wednesday accused Switzerland and Vietnam of manipulating their currencies, partly to gain a trade advantage over American exports. In the semi-annual foreign exchange report, Treasury found the two countries were intervening in currency markets to affect balance of payments, and in the case of Vietnam, also aiming at „gaining unfair competitive advantage in international trade.“ US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called the decision „a strong step… to safeguard economic growth and opportunity for American workers and businesses.“ China remains on Treasury’s „Monitoring List,“ along with Japan, Korea, Germany and others. Treasury added three countries to the list: India, Taiwan and Thailand. President Donald Trump has repeatedly railed against countries that have trade surpluses with the United States, accusing many of them of using a weaker currency to sell their goods more cheaply at the expense of US producers. He primarily targeted Beijing for criticism, but also Berlin, even though Germany uses the common euro currency. Treasury removed China from the list of currency manipulators in January, just before Washington and Beijing signed a „phase one“ trade agreement to partially resolve a destructive, months-long trade war.
