WARNING NOTICE: A US Treasury report cited the nation’s ‘persistently’ large current account surplus and its foreign-exchange intervention in March as reasons for the move

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 18, 2020
By: Staff writer, with CNA, WASHINGTON

The US Department of the Treasury on Wednesday added Taiwan to a list of countries being monitored for currency manipulation, the first time the nation has made the list since 2017.

The department issued its semiannual report to the US Congress on the policies of the US’ top 20 trading partners, which said that Vietnam and Switzerland had met the criteria for being labeled currency manipulators.

The manipulator designation has no specific or immediate consequence, beyond short-term market impacts, but US law requires the government to engage with the listed nations to address the perceived exchange-rate imbalance.

Penalties, including exclusion from US government contracts, could be applied after a year if the label is not removed.    [FULL  STORY]