U.S. Treasury releases currency report, does not label China as a currency manipulator.
According to Reuters, the U.S. Treasury released its first semiannual currency report under Trump's second term on June 5. China was not designated as a currency manipulator.
The U.S. Treasury stated that in 2024, no major U.S. trading partner manipulated their currency. However, Ireland and Switzerland were added to the "watch list," bringing the total number to nine.
Despite the "depreciation pressure" on the renminbi, the U.S. Treasury has not yet labeled China as a currency manipulator at this time. However, it noted that China's exchange rate policies and practices lack transparency, which is "highly prominent among our major trading partners." It also pointed out that "if evidence of exchange rate intervention is found in the future, designation as a currency manipulator will not be ruled out."
The U.S. Treasury stated that mainland China, Taiwan region, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Germany, Ireland, and Switzerland are all on the watch list and require additional foreign exchange reviews.
It is reported that meeting two out of the following three criteria automatically qualifies a country for the watch list: a trade surplus with the U.S. of at least $15 billion, a global current account surplus accounting for more than 3% of GDP, and sustained one-way net foreign exchange purchases. Ireland and Switzerland were included on the list due to large trade and current account surpluses with the U.S.
The message indicated that during his first term, Trump designated China as a currency manipulator in August 2019. This decision was made against the backdrop of escalating trade tensions between China and the U.S. In January 2020, when Chinese officials arrived in Washington to sign a trade agreement with the U.S., the Treasury Department rescinded this designation.
The latest report covers the last year of former President Biden's administration. During his four-year term, Biden never labeled any trading partner as a currency manipulator but expressed similar concerns about China.
A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs once stated that China has never been a currency manipulator. China is a responsible major country that has repeatedly emphasized that it will not engage in competitive currency devaluation and will neither use the exchange rate as a tool to respond to external disturbances such as trade disputes.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1834149416192008/
Disclaimer: The article solely represents the views of the author.