The central bank yesterday pledged to continue “enhanced engagement” with the US after Washington on Friday placed Taipei on a list of countries being monitored for currency manipulation.
The bank said it has conducted several rounds of talks with US authorities on bilateral trade and currency since April last year, and clearly expressed its stance on the issues.
Citing the US Department of the Treasury’s latest semi-annual currency report covering last year, the bank said Washington agreed that the “productive discussions have helped develop a common understanding of the policy issues related to the Treasury’s concerns about Taiwan’s currency practices.”
Photo: CNA
“Over the next year, the central bank will continue its enhanced engagement with the US on currency issues,” it said, but did not comment on Taiwan’s performance regarding specific thresholds cited in the report.
The report placed Taiwan and Vietnam on a list of countries being monitored for currency manipulation.
The three thresholds the US uses to determine currency manipulation are: a bilateral goods and service trade surplus of at least US$15 billion, a current account surplus equivalent to 3 percent of GDP, and persistent, one-sided foreign-exchange interventions amounting to at least 2 percent of GDP.
According to the report, Taiwan’s bilateral trade surplus with the US and current account surplus were above the manipulation thresholds over the reporting period of the four quarters through December last year.
Taiwan recorded a US$40 billion bilateral goods trade surplus with the US last year, up from US$28 billion in 2020, and had a current account surplus of US$115 billion (14.8 percent of GDP), the report said.
Taiwan was not cited for excessive foreign-exchange interventions last year, when the New Taiwan dollar appreciated for a third straight year against the US dollar, by 2.95 percent.
Analysts said that the central bank intervened during most foreign-exchange trading sessions last year to limit the NT dollar’s gains, but the bank never admitted to it, saying only that it had a responsibility to combat volatility and maintain market stability.
This year, as the NT dollar has weakened against the greenback because of US Federal Reserve rate hikes to fight inflation, Taiwan’s central bank has stepped in to slow down the local currency’s depreciation, especially in March and April.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS