The U.S. has put nations including China, Japan and Germany on a new currency watch list, saying their foreign exchange practices need close monitoring to gauge whether they provide an unfair trade advantage over America.
The inaugural list also includes South Korea and Taiwan, the Treasury Department said Friday in a revamped version of its semiannual report on the foreign exchange policies of major U.S. trading partners. The five nations met two of the three criteria used to judge unfair practices under a February law that seeks to enforce U.S. trade interests. Meeting all three would trigger action by the president to enter discussions with the country and seek potential penalties.
The new scrutiny of some of the world's biggest economies comes amid a bruising presidential campaign in which candidates from both the Democratic and Republican parties have questioned the merits of free trade. Republican front-runner Donald Trump has promised to declare China a currency manipulator, and the latest report may fail to appease critics in Congress who say China's practices have cost American manufacturing jobs.