Advertisement
Advertisement
Donald Trump
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
President Donald Trump is handed an Executive Order to sign by White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, right, with Vice President Mike Pence, left, and others nearby, in the Oval Office of the White House. Photo: AP

Trump slams China and Japan over currencies

Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday lambasted Japan and China for devaluing their currencies, a clear signal of his belief that the two countries are currency manipulators.

“You look at what China’s doing, you look at what Japan has done over the years. They play the money market, they play the devaluation market and we sit there like a bunch of dummies,” he said in a meeting with pharmaceutical company executives.

The remarks prompted the yen to jump to near a two-month high of 112.08 to the US dollar. The yen also strengthened on a news report that Trump’s trade adviser slammed Germany for using a “grossly undervalued” euro to gain an unfair advantage over the United States and the rest of the European Union.

It now appears almost certain that Trump will take up the issue of dollar-yen exchange rates when he meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House on February 10.

Trump last week accused Japan and China of engaging in trade practises that he said are “not fair” to American companies, while singling out auto trade with Japan as falling into that category.

He also said the United States will include a clause preventing currency manipulation in all future bilateral trade deals.

Post