South Korea is on Washington's watch list for currency manipulation... which means the U.S. is going to keep a close eye on South Korea's currency practices and macroeconomic policies.<br />Our Ko Roon-hee starts us off.<br />The Trump administration has decided to keep South Korea on its monitoring list for currency manipulation.<br />According to the Treasury Department's report released on Tuesday, nine countries, including China, are on the monitoring list.<br />The previous report had six nations on the watch list.<br />The report aims to identify potentially unfair currency practices... which could harm American workers and businesses.<br /><br />Countries that meet two of the three criteria are placed on the watch list.<br />The revised criteria include... a trade surplus of at least 20-billion U.S. dollars with the U.S., a current account surplus that is at least 2-percent of GDP, and persistent intervention in foreign exchange markets.<br /><br />The Treasury Department welcomed Korea's public report in March on its foreign exchange intervention.<br />The report emphasized it would remove South Korea from the watch list if conditions remain the same at the time of its next report.<br /><br />Washington has not designated a major trade country a currency manipulator since 1994.<br />If a country is labeled as a currency manipulator..., this could lead to trade sanctions imposed by the U.S.<br /><br />The Trump administration's decision not to label China a currency manipulator this time... has prevented trade tensions from escalating.<br />However, the report says it will carefully monitor developments surrounding the exchange rate issue... saying that the Renminbi depreciated by 3-point-8 percent against the dollar during the second half of 2018.<br />Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News.<br />
