U.S. Department of the Treasury, Swiss Federal Department of Finance and Swiss National Bank reaffirm non-competitive exchange rate commitments and FX transparency practices

The U.S. Department of the Treasury published a joint statement with the Swiss Federal Department of Finance and the Swiss National Bank confirming that the two countries will continue close consultations on macroeconomic and foreign exchange matters through their Standing Macroeconomic and Financial Dialogue and reaffirming commitments not to manipulate exchange rates for competitive purposes. The Swiss National Bank reaffirmed that its monetary policy remains oriented to maintaining appropriate monetary conditions to safeguard price stability and will not target exchange rates for competitive purposes, while the United States reaffirmed its G7 commitment to orient fiscal and monetary policies toward domestic objectives using domestic instruments. The statement sets out a shared view that foreign exchange intervention can be an appropriate tool to address excessively volatile or disorderly depreciation or appreciation, and that macroprudential or capital flow measures and federal government entities such as pension funds investing abroad should not target exchange rates for competitive purposes. Both countries also renewed understandings on transparency, including public disclosure of foreign exchange intervention operations at least quarterly, reserves data and forward positions monthly using the IMF’s Data Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity, and the currency composition of reserves quarterly.