U.S. Treasury Says Vietnam Deliberately Weakened Currency
- Treasury assessment is part of Commerce Department probe
- Vietnam undervalued its currency by about 4.7%, US says
Photographer: Justin Mott/Bloomberg
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An investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department found that Vietnam deliberately undervalued its currency by about 4.7% against the dollar in 2019, according to a letter sent to the U.S. Commerce Department.
The State Bank of Vietnam, the nation’s central bank, facilitated net purchases of about $22 billion worth of foreign exchange last year, which had the effect of undervaluing the dong in a range of 4.2% to 5.2%, according to the letter. The purchases were estimated to have pushed down Vietnam’s real effective exchange rate by 3.5% to 4.8%.