In its semi-annual foreign exchange rate report, the Treasury Department again did not name any trading partners as currency manipulators.
The report finds that for the four quarters through June 2022 Switzerland (1) had a significant bilateral trade surplus with the U.S. (i.e., at least $15 billion), (2) had a material current account surplus (i.e., at least three percent of the country’s gross domestic product, or a surplus for which there is a material current account gap), and (3) engaged in persistent one-sided intervention in the foreign exchange market (i.e., conducted repeatedly in at least eight of the last twelve months net purchases of foreign currency that total at least two percent of the country’s GDP).
However, Treasury has also found that during this period neither Switzerland nor any other country manipulated its exchange rate for purposes of preventing effective balance of payments adjustments and gaining unfair competitive advantage in international trade. Treasury does plan to continue its “bilateral enhanced engagement” with Switzerland but outlined no other ramifications.
Treasury is maintaining China, Japan, Korea, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan on its list of countries targeted for close scrutiny of their currency practices and macroeconomic policies. India, Italy, Mexico, Thailand, and Vietnam have been removed from this list because they met only one of the three above criteria for two consecutive reports.
For more information, please contact Nicole Bivens Collinson (at (202) 730-4956 or via email) or Kristen Smith (at (202) 730-4965 or via email).
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