US Treasury continues not to list Vietnam as currency manipulator

The US Department of the Treasury has continued not to list Vietnam as a currency manipulator in its latest semi-annual report on the macro-economic and foreign exchange policies of major trading partners of the US, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said on November 8.

The report continued to base on three criteria to make assessments, namely trade surplus with the US, current account surplus, and persistent and one-sided intervention in the foreign currency market.

The US Treasury included six economies in the monitoring list of major trading partners, namely China, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan (China), and Vietnam.

Vietnam met two of the three criteria which are the bilateral goods and services surplus with the US (105 billion USD over the four quarters through June 2023, exceeding the threshold of 15 billion USD), and the current account surplus (at 19 billion USD, equivalent to 4.7% of GDP over the four quarters through June 2023, exceeding the threshold of 3% of GDP). Therefore, it was named in the monitoring list.

The SBV said that at its recent meetings with the central bank, the US Treasury highly valued Vietnam’s governance of the monetary policy and foreign exchange rates, which showed the Southeast Asian country’s seriousness in addressing the US side’s concerns and maintenance of the stability of the financial and monetary markets and the macro-economy amid numerous difficulties and challenges.

In the joint statement on the elevation of bilateral relations to the comprehensive strategic partnership, the US appreciated Vietnam’s ongoing efforts to further modernise and enhance the transparency of its monetary policy and exchange rate management framework, to promote macro-economic stability and to ensure the safety and soundness of the banking system.

On the basis of the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership, the SBV will continue coordinating with ministries and sectors to keep close cooperation and establish channels for frequent and effective communications with the US Treasury, thereby helping promote mutual understanding, cooperation, information sharing, and timely settlement of issues of common concern, the central bank added.