WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government on Wednesday labeled Vietnam and Switzerland as currency manipulators, a move that is likely to increase trade tensions with the countries.

It was the first time that the U.S. Treasury Department has accused either country of improperly intervening in the foreign exchange markets.

In its Semiannual Report on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policies to the U.S. Congress, the department concluded that both Vietnam and Switzerland met all three criteria under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 during the four quarters ending June 2020.

The report said that it seeks to identify any major U.S. trading partner that has a significant bilateral trade surplus with the United States, a material current account surplus, and engaged in persistent one-sided intervention in the foreign exchange market.