Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Who's the real winner

A recent blog has brought attention to an international issue, the weakening of the dollar. Over the past few years the purchasing power of the dollar has continued to dwindle, increasing the strength of other "major" currencies including; the English pound, the European euro, and the Japanese yen. As the dollar value decreases, exports from the U.S. become cheaper to foreigners and imports to the U.S. become more expensive. From an economic standpoint, this occurrence increases the demand for U.S. made products and decreases the demand for foreign made goods.
Last week a meeting was held in Paris, which was attended by the finance ministers of Germany and France. The general attitude at this meeting was one of concern to say the very least, because they have already endured some of the negative consequences that a stronger currency brings. Some seem to think that President Bush is not concerned with the weakening of the dollar, because it could lead to a reduced trade deficit. In other words, the U.S. is seen as receiving all of the benefits from a weaker currency. However, I think this isn't the case.The real winner in this situation is the relatively silent and somewhat overlooked China.
China has tied its' currency to the dollar, which means that its' currency has dropped as much as the dollar has. The U.S. has an enormous trade deficit, which is a contributing factor to a weaker dollar; however, China is experiencing an economic boom with a consistent trade surplus. By fixing its currency to the dollar, China's currency has become extremely under-valued, creating an even higher incentive to buy Chinese goods. Also, since both of our currencies are tied to each other, the weakening of the dollar is not a disincentive for us to import Chinese goods.
When will China begin to float its' currency?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3166588a6026,00.html

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