What to expect from the new US Treasury (UST) Secretary

Janet Yellen, former chairman of the Fed, may take over as finance minister after Joe Biden takes over as president. Political experts say that her policy on the US-China trade partnership will be different from that of the Trump administration.

President-elect Joe Biden is due to take office as President of the USA in January 2021. He appointed former Fed Chairman Janet Yellen as Finance Minister, but this position also has to be approved by the Senate. Under President Donald Trump, this position was held by Steven Mnuchin.

Janet Yellen, 74, was the first woman to head the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018, and may now be the first woman to head the US Treasury.

Yellen advocates continuing government "emergency financial support" in the wake of the pandemic to support the unemployed and vulnerable, but her position on China is less well known.

Nevertheless, American political experts, referring to her earlier statements, argue that she will call for an end to protectionism, the restoration of open trade, and cooperation with China on the basis of the World Trade Organization.This is different from Trump's position, which applied trade duties unilaterally.

At a World Bank (WB) event at the beginning of the year, Yellen said she believes that the duties have harmed US manufacturers and worsened employment in the manufacturing sector.

Janet Yellen said: "On the one hand, duties provide some protection for producers in the US, but on the other hand they serve as a duty on intermediate resources that are important to these same businesses".

Biden and Yellen agree that they recognize the validity of such controversial and complex issues as China's subsidies to state-owned enterprises, the forced transfer of technology from US companies to their Chinese partners and the alleged theft of intellectual property, as well as US-China competition practices in technology that affect national security.

Investment experts say that stock market investors can accept Yellen's appointment favourably.