WASHINGTON, June 6 — The US Treasury Department said yesterday in a semi-annual report that no major trading partner was a currency manipulator in 2024, although it added Ireland and Switzerland to a monitoring list.
The release of the currency report — the first of US President Donald Trump’s new administration — took aim at China however for a “lack of transparency around its exchange rate policies and practices.”
The report looks into countries with large trade surpluses with respect to the United States, and those whose actively intervene in foreign exchange markets to gain a competitive edge.
The Treasury found that no major partner manipulated currency exchange last year for reasons including gaining unfair trade advantages.
But nine economies are on the Treasury’s “monitoring list” — signalling their currency practices and economic policies call for closer attention.
The list includes China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Germany, Ireland and Switzerland — with Ireland and Switzerland being the new additions since November.
“We will continue to strengthen our analysis of currency practices and increase the consequences of any manipulation designation,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
“Moving forward, Treasury will use all available tools at its disposal to implement strong countermeasures against unfair currency practices,” he added.
While the Treasury held off designating China as a currency manipulator, it warned that the situation could change if there was evidence suggesting the country was intervening to resist the appreciation of the yuan.
The Treasury took aim at unfair currency practices abroad, saying they had contributed to the US trade deficit and “hollowed out” manufacturing employment. — AFP
