Office of International Affairs

East Asia

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East Asia

The East Asia Office at the U.S. Treasury Department helps develop and guide U.S. economic policy towards 13 economies in the region, including  China , Japan , the Philippines and South Korea . It also leads Treasury's engagement with Asian regional bodies, including the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and various regional financial initiatives. The Office consists of four country economists and is led by a Director and a Deputy Director. The Office's primary responsibilities involve the analysis of economic developments in the region with the purpose of promoting U.S. policies and fostering economic growth, financial stability and poverty reduction; ensuring that these policies are reflected in the activities of the international financial institutions (particularly the IMF, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank); and providing ideas to senior economic policymakers. In that context, the office's desk economists:

• monitor economic developments in East Asian economies and help develop Treasury and Administration policies toward the region;
  
  
• follow closely the policies and movements of East Asian exchange rates and assess their impacts on U.S. and global economic interests;
  
  
• seek to influence the policies and programs of the IMF, World Bank, and Asian Development Bank, working through the U.S. Executive Director's offices;
  
  
• engage with private sector analysts and businesses active in the region;
  
  
• work with U.S. government agencies and Congress on U.S. initiatives to stimulate growth and reduce poverty such as the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA);
  
  
• develop and maintain close relationships with Asian officials responsible for economic policies in the region.

More recently, the Office has been actively engaged in efforts to encourage greater exchange rate flexibility in China and in the region generally; support Japan's efforts to overcome deflation and banking sector problems and achieve strong and sustained economic growth; create forward momentum for the Doha round of financial services negotiations and highlight the Treasury Department's work on remittances in APEC; and encourage the government of the Philippines to take prompt and decisive actions in enacting fundamental structural reforms to assure rapid and sustained growth.