US Treasury Places Thailand on Currency Monitoring List

The United States Treasury Department has added Thailand to its currency "Monitoring List" in its January 2026 report on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners. The decision was based on Thailand meeting two significant economic criteria: a large global current account surplus of 3.8% of GDP and a substantial bilateral trade surplus with the United States of $54 billion over the four quarters ending June 2025. Thailand joins other countries including China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Germany, Ireland, and Switzerland on the watch list. This is not the first time Thailand has been monitored, having previously been on the list during the post-Covid period from 2020 to 2021. The Treasury emphasized that while Thailand meets two of the three assessment criteria, it did not qualify as a "currency manipulator." The country fell short of the third criterion regarding persistent foreign exchange purchases, with net foreign exchange purchases amounting to only 0.9% of GDP. Countries automatically enter the Monitoring List when they meet two of the three specified thresholds, which include a trade surplus of at least $15 billion, a global current account surplus exceeding 3% of GDP, and sustained net foreign exchange purchases.