Hanoi (VNA) – The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said on May 30 that it willcontinue to coordinate with relevant Vietnamese ministries and agencies regardingthe US Department of Treasury’s issues of concern, in the spirit of cooperation.
Thecentral bank made the statement after the US department released a monitoringlist on May 29 of major trading partners that merit close attention to theircurrency practices, which includes Vietnam.
Thebank will also continue managing the monetary policy to control inflation,stabilise the macro economy, spur economic growth appropriately, and manage theforex rate flexibly in line with developments of both domestic and foreignmarkets, as well as characteristics of the Vietnamese economy, so as to notcreate unhealthy competitive edge in international trade.
OnMay 29, the US treasury department issued its Semiannual Report onMacroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the US,with the monitoring list comprising of China, Japan, the Republic of Korea,Germany, Italy, Ireland, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Inthe report, the department reviewed and assessed the policies of an expandedset of 21 major US trading partners, whose bilateral goods trade with the US exceeds40 billion USD annually. Previously, it only covered the 12 largest tradingpartners.
Thereport concluded that “no major US trading partner met the relevant 2015legislative criteria for enhanced analysis” as a currency manipulator.
Countries with a current-account surplus with theUS equivalent to 2 percent of gross domestic product are eligiblefor the list. Otherthresholds include persistent intervention in markets for a nation’s currency,and a trade surplus of at least 20 billion USD. Countries that meet two of thethree criteria are placed on the watch list.
China only triggered one of the criteria, butstill merited inclusion given its large, increasing surplus.
Meanwhile, Vietnam was put on the list as itsatisfied the criteria for bilateral trade and current account surpluses.
The US Department of the Treasury will continuemonitoring information and statistics regarding Vietnam’s trade, currentaccount, monetary and macroeconomic policies, and may work with relevantVietnamese agencies as it sees necessary. –VNA
VNA