TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The U.S. Treasury Department released its semiannual currency practices report Friday (June 6), finding no evidence of currency manipulation among major trading partners but placing Taiwan and six other economies on a monitoring watchlist. The closely watched report, which assesses whether countries artificially devalue their currencies to gain trade advantages, added Ireland and Switzerland to a roster that already included Taiwan, China, Japan, and South Korea.
The Treasury's analysis covers economies representing 78% of U.S. external trade in goods and services, finding no evidence of manipulation during the four quarters ending December 2024. Seven economies — Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Germany, Ireland, and Switzerland — triggered concerns by maintaining significant bilateral trade surpluses and material current account surpluses with the United States. Singapore separately met criteria for persistent, one-sided foreign exchange intervention while also maintaining material current account surpluses, prompting its inclusion on the watchlist despite different triggering factors.
Regarding Taiwan specifically, Treasury officials noted the island's practice of disclosing foreign exchange intervention data only semiannually with a three-month reporting lag, suggesting improved transparency. The report recommends Taiwanese monetary authorities increase vigilance against risks in the nonbank financial sector while limiting currency market interventions. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a stern warning alongside the report, declaring that the Trump administration "will no longer tolerate economic policies that lead to trade imbalances" and pledging intensified scrutiny of currency practices with potential countermeasures against what it deems unfair practices.
China maintained its position on the monitoring list primarily due to its continued lack of transparency in foreign exchange operations and its substantial trade imbalance with the United States, which reached US$279 billion in 2024. Treasury officials emphasized that all nine economies on the watchlist — Taiwan, China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, and Singapore — will face heightened scrutiny of their currency practices and broader economic policies in coming months. The monitoring process represents an intermediate step before potential designation as a currency manipulator, which could trigger trade sanctions or other economic countermeasures. ◼