Aso and Mnuchin Agree Currency Matter Should be Dealt by Them

The finance chiefs of Japan and the United States agreed Thursday that currency issues should be handled at their level, downplaying comments by U.S. President Donald Trump warning that the dollar was getting “too strong.”

Finance Minister Taro Aso, after meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on the sidelines of a Group of 20 finance chiefs’ gathering in Washington, said he does not “take issue” with Trump’s comment.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Trump have agreed that currency issues should be handled by the two countries’ finance chiefs. Aso said he “reaffirmed” such stance during his talks with Mnuchin.

Aso and Mnuchin also discussed cooperation in imposing economic sanctions in the wake of North Korea’s missile launches.

Trump has accused Japan of devaluing its currency to gain an advantage in trade, but Tokyo dismisses the view, saying the Bank of Japan’s monetary easing was designed to achieve its 2 percent inflation target and not to devalue the yen.

Earlier in the month, the U.S. Treasury Department kept Japan, China and four other economies on its monitoring list for their currency practices.

via Mainichi

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