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Taiwan to buy more from U.S. as seeks to head off currency manipulator label

25 November 2019 12:18 (UTC +04:00)

Taiwan’s central bank and Ministry of Economic Affairs have set up a group to coordinate stepped up purchases of U.S. goods, two sources said, as its seeks to reduce its trade surplus and head off being labeled a currency manipulator, APA reports citing Reuters.

Taiwan was last labeled a currency manipulator by the United States in December 1992 and was then on the U.S. Treasury monitoring list in 2016 and 2017.

Taiwan’s trade surplus with the United States this year is expected to pass $20 billion, meeting one of the criteria Washington uses to qualify for being on the monitoring list for a currency manipulator.

In the first nine months of this year the United States recorded a $17.4 billion trade deficit with Taiwan.

Taiwan is eyeing increased purchases of U.S. oil and natural gas, soybeans, corn and military hardware, the sources, who are familiar with the matter, told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Taiwan will “step up imports, including aircraft, agricultural goods and so on”, one of the sources said, referring to imports from the United States.

Taiwan’s central bank declined to comment and the Ministry of Economic Affairs did not respond to requests for comment.