US Treasury accuses Vietnam, Switzerland of manipulating their currencies
Vietnamese banknotes in a commercial bank in Hanoi (illustrative image).
AP - Chitose Suzuki
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
The US Treasury formally accuses Vietnam and Switzerland of manipulating their currencies for commercial profit, and carries serious criticisms on three countries, suggesting that they have orchestrated the devaluation of their currency against the dollar.
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To be accused by Washington of manipulating exchange rates, a country must meet three criteria: have a bilateral trade surplus of $ 20 billion with the United States, interventions in the foreign exchange markets representing 2% of its domestic product gross and a current surplus exceeding 2% of its GDP.
Twice a year,
the US Treasury
scrutinizes the business practices of its top 20 partners.
In a last report covering the period from July 2019 to June 2020, the Treasury estimates that the Swiss and Vietnamese authorities intervened in the foreign exchange markets.
He accuses Switzerland of having lowered the franc to influence the balance of payments, and Vietnam of having lowered the dong, in order to benefit from an “
unfair competitive advantage
”.
Appeasement with China
If Hanoi declined to comment, the Swiss National Bank defended itself by asserting that its interventions on the foreign exchange market were not aimed at securing an unfair commercial advantage but at contributing to the implementation of its monetary policy. and price stability.
In addition, ten other countries, including Germany, Japan and Italy, South Korea, are already placed under surveillance.
The Treasury has just added Taiwan, Thailand and India.
On the other hand, since January 2020, Washington no longer considers that China is manipulating its currency.
As a sign of appeasement, in
the trade war between the two great powers
, Washington has placed it on the list of countries under surveillance.
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