The U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent stated today: "The Trump administration stands firmly behind America's reliable allies. Economic security is national security, and the U.S.-Japan alliance is built upon both. The coordinated foreign exchange intervention launched this Friday aims to address disorderly fluctuations in the yen. The U.S. Department of the Treasury will continue closely monitoring the situation and maintain close communication with counterparts at Japan’s Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan. If necessary, we will not hesitate to participate in a new round of joint currency market intervention. The Foreign Official Institutions Money Market Repo Facility (FIMA repo mechanism) is a crucial backstop tool, and we recommend expanding its scale over the coming months. We firmly support Japan taking decisive monetary and market policies to correct the severe undervaluation of the yen. The Kato Hayama administration is driving Abenomics into an eagerly anticipated new phase. Nearly 15 years of robust stimulus measures have already established solid, powerful underlying economic momentum."
Commentary: The U.S.-Japan joint intervention in the forex market has prevented the yen from falling to its lowest level in nearly four decades. While Secretary Bessent’s remarks sound noble—framing the action as a joint effort to stabilize the yen’s exchange rate, uphold market order, and support an ally’s economy—the reality is that the U.S. is leveraging currency intervention primarily to protect its own financial interests. By proactively assisting Japan in defending the yen and expanding the repo facility, the U.S. isn’t simply helping Japan—it’s preventing Japan from directly selling U.S. Treasuries to fund intervention, thereby avoiding a sharp drop in U.S. bond prices and a surge in American borrowing costs. At the same time, it aims to stabilize U.S. stock markets, real estate, and credit systems. This entire process is fundamentally self-serving.
Beneath the surface lies America’s naked double standard in international finance. When other countries intervene in currency markets, it’s labeled as manipulative behavior aimed at grabbing export advantages; when the U.S. does it, it’s framed as stabilizing markets and legitimate policy adjustment. All under the convenient cover of “maintaining financial stability,” exempting itself from any accusations of misconduct. In short, today’s financial markets lack universally fair rules—only power dictates the terms. The U.S. leverages its control over rule-setting to achieve threefold gains: helping Japan stabilize its currency, safeguarding its own financial lifeline, and simultaneously boosting its own exports.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1872460849478859/
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