Thailand remains on U.S. Treasury monitoring list for currency practices

Thailand remains on U.S. Treasury monitoring list for currency practices

WASHINGTON, Jan 29, 2026 — The U.S. Department of the Treasury has placed Thailand on its semi-annual “Monitoring List” of major trading partners whose currency practices and macroeconomic policies merit close attention, citing concerns over external surpluses and potential impacts on trade competitiveness, the Treasury said in a report delivered to Congress on Thursday.

The Monitoring List, which tracks economies whose foreign exchange policies could give them an unfair competitive edge, now includes ten countries: China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and Thailand. All except Thailand were previously on the list in the June 2025 report.

The report found that no major U.S. trading partner met all three statutory criteria — including persistent one-sided intervention — to be designated a currency manipulator during the four quarters through June 2025, and therefore stopped short of naming any manipulators.

Thailand’s inclusion reflects its growing global current account surplus and bilateral trade surplus with the United States, conditions that can attract scrutiny under U.S. law as part of efforts to monitor potential “unfair competitive” currency practices.

The Treasury said it will also broaden its assessment to look at a wider range of foreign exchange interventions and government policies that could influence markets, such as capital controls and macroprudential measures.