Despite a bitter trade war with China focused on bringing down the US trade deficit, Treasury held back from escalating the fight further. Mnuchin said Treasury "is expanding the number of US trading partners it reviews to make currency practices fairer and more transparent." With the newly expanded list, Treasury put nine trading partners on the monitoring list, including Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. A senior Treasury official told reporters that China still merited inclusion "given the importance of China and their large, increasing surplus." However, a senior Treasury official said that would be "a distinct, different process" from the currency report.

Source: Bangkok Post May 29, 2019 00:11 UTC