China and Japan reaped biggest trade-benefits from U.S. last year: U.S. Department of Commerce

New data from the U.S. government shows China was responsible for incurring the highest
portion of America's trade-deficit for goods and services in 2016.
As our Kim Jung-soo reports, this means, Beijing inches closer to being labeled a currency
manipulator by the Trump administration.
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce on Tuesday, the U.S. suffered an overall trade
deficit of over 502 billion dollars in 2016, which is four tenths of a percent higher than
2015, and is also the highest in four years.
By far the biggest deficit was with China at more than 347 billion dollars.
In a distant second was Japan at about 69 billion, followed by Germany at 64.
Korea was in seventh at 27-point-7 billion dollars.
One reason for the bigger deficit last year was that exports were hit by a stronger dollar,
which has risen two percent since President Trump's election.
It's something he will likely seek to reverse.
Just days ago, the Trump administration attacked countries including China, Japan and Germany
as currency manipulators.
According to U.S. Treasury standards, a country can be considered a currency manipulator if
it meets three criteria: it needs to have a trade surplus with the U.S. of over 20 billion
dollars, a current account surplus worth more than 3 percent of its GDP, and lastly, it
must exhibit a history of deliberate currency-depreciation.
Last October, under President Obama, the U.S treasury department put six countries -- China,
Germany, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Switzerland - on its preliminary watchlist used to monitor
'unfair' currency practices.
Some pundits say the latest developments could mean the new administration won't wait until
the treasury department releases its next foreign exchange report in April, but will
go ahead and designate China as a currency manipulator to justify enacting trade retaliatory
measures.
In a statement last Friday, the Chinese government rejected the allegations made by President
Trump:
"China has never used and will not use a currency war to seek advantage in trade or to raise
its competitiveness in trade.
From a long-term perspective this is not beneficial to China."
Korea is not safe from this perception either.
It already meets two of Washington's criteria for a currency manipulator.
But Seoul's finance minister Yoo il-ho said last week that he will consider expanding
imports of raw materials from the U.S - among other options - to prevent it from meeting
all three.
Kim Jung-soo, Arirang News.

China and Japan reaped biggest trade-benefits from U.S. last year: U.S. Department of Commerce

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