U.S. trade chief voices concern to Vietnam over currency practices
Eric Beech, 01 April 2021
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, in a call on Thursday with Vietnam’s minister of industry and trade, highlighted U.S. concerns about Vietnam’s currency practices, a USTR statement said.
Tai and the Vietnamese minister Tran Tuan Anh also “discussed U.S. concerns on illegal timber practices, digital trade and agriculture,” the statement said.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade in a statement on Friday said Vietnam and the United States “will continue to actively cooperate to comprehensively address the concerns to maintain a stable trade relation.”
The ministry said bilateral trade between the two countries is expected to reach $100 billion this year, up from $90.8 billion last year. The United States is Vietnam’s largest export market.
The U.S. Treasury Department in December labeled Vietnam a “currency manipulator” due to its growing trade surplus with the United States, its large global current account surplus and heavy foreign exchange market intervention to hold down the value of its dong currency.
In January, the USTR released the results of an investigation into Vietnam’s currency practices.
