US Treasury removes India from its Currency Monitoring List

The United States’ Department of Treasury has removed India from its Currency Monitoring List, hours after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen addressed US-India Businesses and investment Opportunities event in New Delhi on Friday. Along with India, the United States also removed Italy, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam from its Currency Monitoring List. India had been on the list for the last two years.

China, Japan, Korea, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan are the seven economies that are a part of the current Currency Monitoring List, the Department of Treasury said in its biannual report to the Congress.

The biannual report also said that the countries that have been removed from the Currency Monitoring List have met only one out of three criteria for two consecutive reports.

“China’s failure to publish foreign exchange intervention and broader lack of transparency around key features of its exchange rate mechanism makes it an outlier among major economies and warrants Treasury’s close monitoring,” said the report.

The move came on a day when Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen visited New Delhi and held talks with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. On her first visit to India, United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen quoted President Joe Biden, saying that India is an “indispensable partner to the United States”.

“That's particularly true today. I believe that these urgent challenges are bringing India and the United States closer together than ever before," she said.

Speaking at the US-India Businesses and investment Opportunities event in New Delhi, Janet Yellen said that the US will be extending support to India's presidency in G20 to achieve shared global priorities.

Janet Yellen said, “This is my first visit to India as Treasury Secretary, I'm delighted to be here as India celebrates its 75th year of independence and prepares to assume the G20 presidency. As President Biden said, India is one of America's indispensable partners."

“Our strong trade, investment and people-to-people ties make bilateral, economic, and financial relationships, a critical element to our partnership,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, adding, “Bilateral trade between the US and India reached an all-time high last year and we expect it to grow further.”

(With agency inputs)