TAIPEI Reuters - Taiwan and the United States have mutually beneficial trade relations, especially in technology, and they have smooth communication channels and will keep talking to each other on currency issues, Taiwan's central bank said on Saturday.
Taiwan, along with Vietnam, exceeded the U.S. Treasury thresholds for possible currency manipulation and enhanced analysis under a trade law released in 2015, but the department refrained from branding them as manipulators.
Taiwan's central bank reiterated that the trade surplus with the United States was due to the China-U. The S. trade war, which has seen companies move production from China to avoid tariffs, and soaring tech demand from U.S. consumers during the COVID-19 epidemic.
The expansion of the trade surplus with the United States has no correlation with exchange rate factors, it said in a statement, repeating comments made by a central bank official late Friday.
Taiwan's current account surplus has been affected by domestic savings growth, with Taiwanese firms increasing their investment at home and people unable to travel or spend due to the Pandemic, it added.
The central bank said that our country and the United States have been important partners in the technology supply chain for a long time and have maintained close and mutually beneficial bilateral trade relations.
The bank and the U.S. Treasury will continue to communicate on important issues in the future on the basis of good interaction, so there is a smooth communication channel between the two sides. The US Treasury said it was working with Taiwan to develop a plan with specific actions to address the underlying causes of Taiwan's currency undervaluation and excessive external surpluses. The Taiwan dollar is up more than 2.5% against the dollar this year, one of the best performing Asian currencies.
Taiwan's case is complicated by geopolitical pressures, including increased military tensions with China, and the island's position as a major exporter of semiconductors needed to help alleviate a supply shortage for U.S. manufacturers.