The facade of the State Bank of Viet Nam in Ha Noi

The U.S. Department of the Treasury on December 3 delivered its semiannual Report to Congress on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States. 

In this Report, Treasury reviewed and assessed the policies of major U.S. trading partners, comprising more than 80 percent of U.S. foreign trade in goods and services, during the four quarters through June 2021.

In accordance with the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (the 1988 Act), the Report concludes that no major U.S. trading partner manipulated the rate of exchange between its currency and the U.S. dollar for purposes of preventing effective balance of payments adjustments or gaining unfair competitive advantage in international trade.

The Report also concludes that both Viet Nam and Chinese Taipei continue to meet all three criteria under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (the 2015 Act) during the period under review, and that the currency practices of twelve economies require close attention. 

Treasury has conducted enhanced analysis of Viet Nam and Chinese Taipei’s macroeconomic and foreign exchange policies, as reflected in the Report.  

As a result of discussions through the enhanced engagement process, Treasury and the SBV reached agreement in July 2021 to address Treasury’s concerns about Viet Nam’s currency practices.

Earlier in April this year, the U.S. Treasury removed Viet Nam and Switzerland from the list of nations labeled as currency manipulators, reversing a decision made by the Trump administration in last December.