Thailand to be vetted by US for currency manipulation

[buksida]

Thailand risks being added to the US' expanded watch list of currency manipulators after Washington lowered the bar for foreign governments to come under scrutiny, according to Bloomberg reports.

The Trump administration will expand the number of countries it scrutinises for currency manipulation in an upcoming report, people familiar with the matter said,

So far, Treasury has examined its 12 largest trade partners and Switzerland. An expanded watch list could include Russia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Ireland or Malaysia, all of which have large trade surpluses with the US.

Sources:
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/wo ... nipulation
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... nipulation

[handdrummer]

Every time Trump opens his mouth the market and dollar go down.

[buksida]

US mulls listing Thailand as currency manipulator
Thailand could meet the three criteria of the US Treasury Department's foreign exchange report in the coming periods, possibly putting the country on a monitoring list of currency manipulators, says Siam Commercial Bank's Economic Intelligence Centre (EIC).

Thailand is likely to record a 6.4% current account surplus this year, well above the US's 2% limit, according to the EIC.

The current account surplus was valued at US$29.3 billion on a year-to-date basis as of October, according to Bank of Thailand data. Last year's current account surplus tallied $28.5 billion.

The central bank has intervened to rein in the baht's strength continuously for more than six months during a one-year period, and bought the US dollar for more than 2% of Thailand's GDP, said the EIC.

But the country has not breached the final criteria -- having a trade surplus with the US worth of over $20 billion.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/18 ... anipulator

[oakdale160]

I do not understand these things. Any finance guy out there can tell us.
1 What can the US do to Thai if it is sure there is hanky-panky.
2 What can Thai do to reverse the raised rates.

[lomuamart]

How about the USA just simply doesn't import from Thailand any more or if they do then the USA slaps some big import taxes on Thai goods.

About time this over protective country got some back.

What can Thailand do? Well, play the game or get stuffed in the long run.

[buksida]

Exactly, Thailand has trade agreements with a number of countries but still taxes the shit out of all of their imports, labeling them as luxuries, and making them beyond the reach of all but the wealthy. It should be reciprocated.

[buksida]

Baht's moves dodge US watch list
Thailand again managed to avoid placement on the US watch list for currency manipulation, while the Bank of Thailand affirmed that steps have been taken to curb the baht's gain with an almost US$80-billion increase in foreign reserves over the past five years.

According to the US Treasury Department's report to Congress on "Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners", Thailand met only one of the department's three criteria for identifying manipulation.

Thailand had a current account surplus of 5.3% of GDP last year, exceeding the 2% set in the criteria, the department said.

Although Thailand had a net purchase position of the US dollar to control the baht's strength in six of the 12 months in 2019, the net purchase was only 1.5% of GDP.

Thailand's current account surplus with the US was $19 billion, also falling short of the criteria.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/18 ... watch-list