Taiwan remains on the U.S. currency manipulation watch list, and Thailand has also been included

(Agence France-Presse Washington, 29th) The U.S. Department of the Treasury stated in a semi-annual report today that it found no evidence of currency manipulation by major U.S. trading partners, but continues to list Taiwan, China, Japan, South Korea, Ireland, Switzerland, and now Thailand as countries to watch; a total of 10 economies are included in the watch list this time. The U.S. Treasury submitted a semi-annual report to Congress regarding the overall economic and foreign exchange policies of major U.S. trading partners, which account for 78% of U.S. goods and services trade. According to the report, there has been no manipulation of the exchange rate between the currencies of any major U.S. trading partners and the U.S. dollar over the four quarters ending June 2025, aimed at preventing effective balance of payments adjustments or gaining an unfair competitive advantage in international trade. However, the report includes Taiwan, China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Germany, Ireland, and Switzerland in the watch list; the Treasury will closely monitor the currency measures and overall economic policies of these trading partners. Among these 10 economies, all except Thailand were on the watch list from last June's report. The report noted that, except for Singapore, these trading partners meet the criteria for "significant bilateral trade surplus" and "substantial current account surplus"; Singapore meets the criteria for "sustained, unilateral foreign exchange intervention" and "substantial current account surplus." U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated in a press release: "To support President Trump's 'America First trade policy,' the Treasury has strengthened its analysis of trading partners' monetary policies and measures starting from this report." The Treasury's press release indicated that as part of President Trump's trade policy, the Treasury has engaged in discussions with several trading partners that have frequently appeared on the "Foreign Exchange Report" watch list since the spring of 2025, and has so far issued joint statements with relevant authorities from six major trading partners: Japan, Switzerland, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, and Taiwan. The U.S. has three criteria for identifying currency manipulators: first, a trade surplus with the U.S. in goods and services exceeding $15 billion; second, a current account surplus exceeding 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP); third, net purchases of foreign currency exceeding 2% of GDP, with more than 8 months out of 12 being net purchases. Meeting any two of these criteria will result in being placed on the watch list