China's prolonged falling yuan may harm Viet Nam's trade

The Vietnamese currency value has been almost unchanged in the last three months, while the yuan has depreciated by about 4 per cent against the US dollar. - Photo chinafocus.com

The yuan on Monday crossed the red line of seven to the US dollar, which has remained stable for 11 years since 2008, after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose new 10 per cent tariffs on US$300 billion of Chinese imports, effective from September 1.

The People’s Bank of China linked the fall of the yuan to the new US tariff threat, though in the evening of the same day it said China had no intention to use the yuan exchange rate as a weapon in the trade war.

China’s currency continued to depreciate in the following two days, being traded between 7.0235 and 7.0529 to a dollar on Wednesday, data of Bloomberg showed.

In Viet Nam, analysts have predicted the fall of yuan may last a long time.

“The US-China trade issues will not likely be resolved and the tension may escalate in the future. At that time, the yuan exchange rate may be used to compensate for damages caused by US tariff hikes,” economist Nguyen Tri Hieu told Viet Nam News.

According to Hieu, the US-China tension is not purely a trade issue but involves political calculation by Trump, especially when he is bidding for re-election in 2020.

With the slogan ‘America First’, Trump may not give concessions and if he went ahead with imposing tariffs on Chinese imports, China would retaliate, Hieu said.

Analysts predict China’s central bank will let the yuan gradually rise in the coming months.

According to UBS economists, the US dollar-yuan exchange rate could move to 7.2 at end-2019 and 7.3 in 2020 in the case of escalating trade tensions. But they also discounted the possibility of a sharp devaluation of the yuan as that could deteriorate the confidence of Chinese businesses and investors which could trigger capital outflows.

The State Bank of Viet Nam on Tuesday increased its daily reference rate by VND15 to VND23,115 per US dollar, its highest-ever rate. The reference rate on Wednesday was set higher at VND23,117.

The USD/VNS exchange rates quoted by banks have not changed much though, trading between VND23,155 and VND23,285.

Pressure on trade

The Vietnamese dong has only depreciated 0.3 per cent against the US currency in the year to date. The local currency value was almost unchanged in the last three months, while the yuan has depreciated by about 4 per cent against the US dollar.

“The yuan is cheaper compared to the dong, meaning Chinese goods are becoming cheaper,” Hieu said.

Viet Nam was suffering trade deficit with China and if imports of Chinese goods into Viet Nam rose, production and business activities of local enterprises would be negatively affected, he added.

Hieu said the Vietnamese central bank would likely continue its stable exchange rate policy but he suggested it “adjust exchange rates at a suitable margin or it would adversely impact Vietnamese goods sold to the world”, especially when major currencies have also lost value.

“The Dong is allowed to depreciate by 3 per cent this year which means the central bank has ample room to regulate the exchange rate.”

Mac Quoc Anh, vice chairman and general secretary of the Ha Noi Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (Hanoisme), said about 70 per cent of Vietnamese agricultural products are exported to China. The decline of the yuan wod hinder Vietnamese exports, especially when China was raising its barriers in terms of food safety standards.

Viet Nam has signed many strategic trade agreements with other countries, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreements (EVFTA), of which many members are not direct competitors to Vietnamese goods.

Anh said local enterprises, especially small and medium ones, should find and diversify partners, seeking support from Vietnamese trade counsellors in other countries and trade counsellors of foreign countries in Viet Nam.

“However, one of the most important things when approaching foreign markets is that local enterprises must study markets carefully and keep their product quality and prices stable,” Anh told Viet Nam News.

He has also suggested the central bank expand the number of prioritised sectors which can enjoy preferential lending rates to other areas such as mechanical engineering or pharmaceuticals to support enterprises.

Five prioritised sectors include agriculture and rural development; export; supporting industry; small and medium enterprises; and enterprises applying high technology.