US Places 6 Nations With Large Trade Surpluses on Currency Watch List - Treasury

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Currency practices of six major US trading partners - China, Japan, Germany, South Korea, India and Switzerland - have been cited as potential currency manipulators, in part due to large trade surpluses with the United States, according to a semiannual report to Congress by the US Department of the Treasury.

"Treasury found that six major trading partners warrant placement on the ‘Monitoring List’ of major trading partners that merit close attention to their currency practices," a press release summarizing the report stated on Friday.

India was placed on the list for the first time, while China, Germany, Japan, Korea and Switzerland were retained from previous reports, the release said.

No countries, including the six listed, met the legal requirement to be branded as "currency manipulators" under a 1988 law that requires twice-yearly reports to Congress on foreign-exchange practices, the release noted.

A deliberately undervalued currency can boost a country’s trade surplus by making exports cheap and imports expensive.