Mnuchin Urges IMF to Bolster Oversight of Currency, Trade Policies

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in his first speech to the International Monetary Fund's governing body, called on the institution to bolster its oversight of currency policies and trade deficits the Trump administration says are warping the global economy.

In his prepared remarks, Mr. Mnuchin affirmed Washington's support for the world's emergency lender, but said the IMF must do a better job detailing country-specific policies that would help build a fairer global system of trade and exchange rates.

"The global economy continues to exhibit large and persistent external imbalances, which contribute to the sentiment that the existing international monetary and trading system does not benefit all," the secretary said. "In this environment, the United States calls upon the IMF to more robustly fulfill its surveillance mandate in pursuit of strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive global growth."

"We look to the IMF to highlight where surplus countries can more forcefully contribute to support symmetric adjustment in pursuit of a fairer global system," he said.

Write to Ian Talley at ian.talley@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 21, 2017 18:42 ET (22:42 GMT)