“The issue of the (yuan) is one that is an irritant not just to
to sell goods around the world,” Obama told reporters at the end of a
conference by the Group of 20 leading and developing countries.
“It is undervalued. And
It was the harshest tone Obama has taken toward the
world’s second-biggest economy behind the U.S., and came against a
backdrop of Democrats on
Until now, the administration has been loath to charge
is a major holder of U.S. debt, but also because it represents a vast
burgeoning market that may hold the key to boosting U.S. exports. In
addition,
Obama and Treasury Secretary
However, the final communique of the G-20 conference
contained only general language and a call for future review on two
major areas — stopping export-oriented countries from devaluing their
currency and establishing warning levels for nations’ deficit and
surplus levels.
the right direction, but coming after Obama’s inability to break the
earlier impasse over a free trade agreement with
The bruising series of meetings suggested that as
the U.S. struggles to exit its economic downturn, and emerging
economies continue to post big growth, the ability of U.S. leaders to
push through the U.S. agenda on the world stage has been clipped.
“We have had outsized influence over world affairs
for a century now,” Obama told reporters. “And you are now seeing a
situation in which a whole host of other countries are doing very well
and coming into their own, and naturally they are going to be more
assertive in terms of their interests and ideas.”
Although Obama described that development as “a healthy thing,” the G-20 highlighted the tensions between
Many U.S. officials contend that
decision to keep the value of the yuan low — some studies say by 20
percent versus the dollar — has both hampered the U.S. economy and
fueled global trade disparities.
There had been little expectation of big
announcements about currency, because the Chinese government has made
it clear it won’t revalue quickly, and though the communique said the
G-20 nations agreed there should be a move toward market-driven
exchange rates, it gave no indication of when or how that might happen.
The communique was similarly vague about the issue
of countries adopting targets to keep deficits and surpluses within a
set percentage of their gross domestic product.
The document cited a need for “indicative
guidelines” to counter “persistently large imbalances,” but it included
no actual figures. Instead, the G-20 leaders agreed to continue mulling
over the matter “with progress to be discussed by our Finance Minister
and Central Bank Governors in the first half of 2011.”
Speaking with Canadian reporters, Prime Minister
A senior Obama administration official who met with
reporters on the G-20 sidelines, speaking on the condition of anonymity
to give him more room to comment, repeated the administration line that
the communique is imperfect but a good start.
“Of course … the ultimate test over time is, do
countries actually change their policies at a pace and a level that
increases the odds that we get stronger growth? So you won’t know until
you see how this develops over time,” the official said. “But you have
to start with the basic framework of consensus. And we think we
achieved that.”
The official added: “You’ve got to live in the real world.”
the world’s largest exporters, had signaled early on that they’re
unenthusiastic about adopting specific guidelines for trade balances.
They repeatedly criticized the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision this
month to buy
An article carried by Xinhua, the Chinese state
newswire, said Friday that after the Fed move there were growing
“concerns … about the stability of the U.S. dollar as a global
reserve currency.”
Still, Obama and his team said the G-20 meeting should be viewed in the longer term.
The communique and its 38 pages of plans included agreement on revamping the
to give emerging markets more of a voting share and a bigger presence
on the IMF’s executive board — the result of discussions at earlier
G-20 meetings. It also called for a long list of measures such as
support for free trade, tax overhauls in developing countries and
anti-corruption efforts — though without any powers of enforcement, the
statements were more suggestions than edicts.
“We should not anticipate that every time countries
come together that we are doing some revolutionary thing,” Obama told
reporters. “Instead of hitting home runs, sometimes we’re going to hit
singles. But they’re really important singles.”
Soon after, Obama said he had to leave to catch a plane — he was headed to
———
(c) 2010, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Visit the
