U.S. Treasury Names South Korea, 8 Others to 2025 Currency Monitoring List

The U.S. Treasury has released its exchange rate policy report. Reuters reports that nine countries, including South Korea, were named to the currency monitoring list.

On June 5, the Treasury submitted its semiannual report to Congress, listing China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, Germany, Ireland, and Switzerland as monitoring targets.

South Korea was removed in November 2023 but reinstated last November. Ireland and Switzerland are new additions. South Korea met two criteria: a $55 billion trade surplus with the U.S. and a current account surplus of 5.3% of GDP in 2024. The Treasury noted South Korea sold $11.2 billion in foreign exchange, or 0.6% of GDP, to manage volatility.

The Trump administration warned of tough measures against unfair currency practices. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stressed stronger sanctions, including tariffs, for currency manipulators. South Korea’s Finance Ministry pledged ongoing dialogue with the U.S. The next report is due in October or November.

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