Treasury refrains from naming any currency manipulators

The Treasury Department did not name any major trading partners as a currency manipulator in its semiannual report on foreign exchange policies released Friday.

Treasury concluded that no major U.S. trading partners were manipulating exchange rates with the U.S. for purposes of gaining an unfair trade advantage. However, it said in the report that Vietnam and Taiwan continue to meet the criteria for an enhanced analysis.

Treasury said that the department and the State Bank of Vietnam reached an agreement in July to address concerns about Vietnam’s currency practices, and so far Treasury is satisfied with Vietnam’s progress. Treasury said it has been engaging with Taiwan about its currency practices since May.

Treasury also named 12 trading partners to a “monitoring list” of economies whose currency practices warrant close attention. They are: China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Ireland, Italy, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Mexico and Switzerland. All of those trading partners were also on the monitoring list in Treasury’s previous report in April, except for Switzerland, which previously had met the criteria for enhanced analysis.

Treasury noted in its report that China is an outlier among major economies because it is not transparent about key aspects of its exchange rate mechanism.

“Treasury is working relentlessly to promote a stronger and more balanced global recovery that benefits American workers, including through close engagement with major economies on currency-related issues,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a news release.