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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -
China's massive intervention in currency markets could qualify it as the most
protectionist nation in history, a leading U.S. economist said on
Friday.
"China has intervened massively in the foreign exchange markets for at least
five years, buying at least $1 billion every day to keep the dollar strong and
its own renminbi weak," Fred Bergsten, president of the Peterson Institute for
International Economics, said in the text of a speech.
"This is by far the largest protectionist measure adopted by any country
since the Second World War -- and probably in all of history," Bergsten
said.
Bergsten estimated the China's renminbi, also known as the yuan, is currently
undervalued by at least 20 percent against the U.S. dollar as a result of
China's currency intervention.
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That "is the equivalent of a subsidy of 20 percent on all China's exports and
an additional tariff of 20 percent on all China's imports," Bergsten said.
Bergsten, who served in various White House and Treasury positions between
1969 and 1981, has long been a critic of China's exchange rate policies.
His latest broadside comes amid signs Beijing could let the yuan rise more
rapidly to contain inflation.
Meanwhile, U.S. government data on Thursday showed the bilateral trade
deficit with China grew nearly 12 percent in the first half of 2011 to $133.4
billion, which could stir Congress to act on currency concerns.
Bergsten again urged the U.S. Treasury Department to formally label China a
currency manipulator, something it has refused to do five times under President
Barack Obama.
Treasury's next semi-annual report on the foreign exchange trading practices
is due on Oct 15. Labeling China a currency manipulator would require the
department to launch negotiations with Beijing to remedy the situation.
Bergsten also suggested other U.S. policy responses, such as filing a case at
the World Trade Organization against China for currency manipulation and then
sharply limiting its access to the U.S. market if the case prevailed.
Or "we could initiate 'countervailing currency intervention,' buying Chinese
renminbi to offset the effect on our exchange rate of their massive purchases of
dollars," Bergsten said.
