Under the presidential power of the current president of the United States, Donald Trump, it is no secret that America has faced more government-driven controversy in itself, and on the global stage, in these last three years, than in the thirty years before that. Sure, there was the mass surveillance outrage that was blown up during Barack Obama’s presidency (the very notion that spurred widespread adoption of online privacy and security measures across the country). This (and many other) blunders under the leadership of past US presidents have all had their own impacts, but make no mistake, there has never been a US president as outspoken as Trump (and not always – if ever – in positive ways).
The latest drama under the current president’s leadership comes as Trump throws his energy towards the hope of a weaker US dollar. In the last few days alone, Trump has ignited further controversy surrounding the US dollar by pushing back against the European Central Bank, using his platform to claim that the European bloc was competing unfairly with the USA by deflating the value of its own currency. This is of course not proven, but instead, a tactic used by the US president to drive his point home – that he is unhappy with how his own currency is performing on the global foreign exchange market and beyond. And it is somewhat surprising to some, the stance that Trump has taken on the matter.
The US dollar has remained strong in recent times, but Trump’s position stems from the fact that if the US dollar is worth less than other currencies, foreign countries and regions are (theoretically) more inclined to buy American goods. This would obviously boost aspects of the US economy including US manufacturing. Additionally, a weaker US dollar would help to effectively close the trade deficit. Trump’s latest movement comes shortly after he made his latest accusation against China, wherein he stated that China was keeping the Yuan intentionally low to make exports cheaper, therefore increasing the trade imbalance.
Since Trump became president, the US dollar has remained high, but this week it has become abundantly clear (yet again) that he is displeased with this. While one would understandably believe that a strong US dollar is a positive thing, Trump has gone the opposite way. Of course, the reality is that a strong dollar affects the economy in both positive and negative ways, just as a weak dollar does. In this case, it appears that – at least according to current president Donald Trump – the status of the strong US dollar is doing more harm than good. This latest movement of Trump’s regarding the strength of the US dollar signals what is likely to become an ongoing effort to do everything he can to weaken the US dollar, thus (in his opinion, at least) boosting the US economy to all-new heights. What is actually going to happen remains, for now, unseen and unconfirmed, but it is sure to be interesting.
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