The headquarters of the State Bank of Vietnam in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo
The latest semi-annual report from the US Department of the Treasury has once again excluded Việt Nam from its list of currency manipulators, according to an announcement by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) early this week.
This report assesses the macro-economic and foreign exchange policies of the US's major trading partners based on three criteria: trade surplus with the US, current account surplus, and persistent, unilateral intervention in the foreign exchange market. The US Treasury's monitoring list of major trading partners includes six economies: China, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan (China), and Việt Nam.
Việt Nam met two of the three criteria, which are the bilateral goods and services surplus with the US (US$105 billion over the four quarters through June 2023, exceeding the threshold of $15 billion), and the current account surplus (at $19 billion, equivalent to 4.7 per cent of GDP over the four quarters through June 2023, exceeding the threshold of 3 per cent 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 Việt Nam’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 Việt Nam’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. — VNS