The Straits Times says

US policies lie at heart of currency woes

New: Gift this subscriber-only story to your friends and family

On Wednesday, the US Treasury released its much-awaited semi-annual foreign exchange report on the currency practices of its major trading partners, which avoided naming China as a "currency manipulator". However, the issue of China's currency management remains high on the US agenda. In recent weeks, US leaders have also been beating the drum on it - China's practices in particular. President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence have both alleged that China has been manipulating its currency. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has also expressed concern about the yuan's 6.6 per cent decline against the US dollar this year.

The recent US-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade has a clause that has never been seen before in any trade agreement. The clause states that the signatories should "achieve and maintain a market-determined exchange-rate regime". Mr Mnuchin pointed out that the currency provision "is going to be important going forward for trade negotiation''.

Already a subscriber? 

Read the full story and more at $9.90/month

Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month

Unlock these benefits

  • All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com

  • Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device

  • E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 19, 2018, with the headline US policies lie at heart of currency woes. Subscribe