David Wessel Quotes

I am advocating a weak yen to a certain extent.

China should have a currency which is a much higher value relative to the dollar and other things. What they're doing is keeping it low, artificially low. And I mean seriously artificial. I don't just mean a little bit low. I mean major low.

To achieve a more balanced international system over time, countries with excessive and unsustainable trade surpluses will need to allow their exchange rates to better reflect market fundamentals.

It is very important for people to understand that the United States of America and no country around the world can devalue its way to prosperity, to be competitive. It is not a viable, feasible strategy, and we will not engage in it.

We believe in fair exchange rates and Japan doesn't practice that. They have massive U.S. dollar reserves, and they use them to intervene regularly.

Some Countries have rais'd Money in the Denomination, when others have lower'd it; …. Some have prohibited the Export of Money under the severest Penalties, when others have by Law allowed it to be exported; Some thinking to add to the Money, have obliged Traders to bring home Bullion, in proportion to the Goods they imported. Most Countries have try'd some or all of these Measures, and others of the same Nature, and have tryed contrary Measures at one time, from what they us'd immediatly before, … that since the Method used had not the effect design'd, a contrary would: Yet is has not been found, that any of them have preserv'd or increased Money; but on the contrair.

When governments manipulate exchange rates to affect currency markets, they undermine the honest efforts of countries that wish to compete fairly in the global marketplace. Supply and demand are distorted by artificial prices conveyed through contrived exchange rates. Businesses fail as legitimately earned profits become currency losses.

To the extent that the Trump administration doesn't like a strong dollar, something has got to give, and just yelling at other countries for devaluing when you're raising rates and they're cutting rates is not going to work.

Japan is doing a big number on the yen, devaluing it.

You have companies over in different countries where they devalue their currency and they make it impossible for American companies to compete.

Debasing your currency sometimes works in the short term, it has never worked in the long term and does not even usually work in the medium term. Lots of politicians like to do it because it is an easy way.

[Falling pound] makes us more competitive.

The gold standard did not collapse. Governments abolished it in order to pave the way for inflation. The whole grim apparatus of oppression and coercion, policemen, customs guards, penal courts, prisons, in some countries even executioners, had to be put into action in order to destroy the gold standard.

The overwhelming number of Democrats... think our trade policy has gone in the wrong direction. They think that our trade policy encourages companies to leave the country. They think our trade policy has caused more and more businesses to outsource.

We ask our companies to restructure; we ask employees to work more for less money because there is overproduction, but then we're unable to defend them from cheaper Chinese imports. We are insane.

I am concerned about the erraticness of the dollar. The dollar is up, the dollar is down. We print a lot of dollars. The dollar gets devalued. That is really the concern. If people think the gold price up and down is a reflection of something wrong with gold, no - I say it is something wrong with the dollar.

The E.U., China, and Japan all talk free trade, and they all practice protectionism.

The IMF and other multilateral institutions do not appear to have prevented nations from manipulating the value of their own currencies.

I really believe in U.S. manufacturing and U.S. exports, but we have to have a level playing field.

More travel to America would lower our trade and budget deficits.

We have relied on China for far too long to provide cheap labor and goods at the expense of America and our workers.

Governments have a tendency to screw up currencies.

When I met with Chinese policymakers in 2006, I advised them that there was a limit to how long they could rely on the U.S. consumer market, as jobs offshoring was destroying it.

We want our exports to perform better. We want more exports. We want to reach out to more countries selling our products, and for that, a weaker rupee will be anytime better.

No one thinks of controlling inflation of a continental-sized country by holding back municipal tariffs. Macroeconomic stability cannot be achieved through microeconomic intervention.