Brazilian Criticizes Wealthy Nations’ Policies

[Judi Lynn]

Source: New York Times

Brazilian Criticizes Wealthy Nations’ Policies
By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM
Published: April 16, 2011

WASHINGTON — Brazil’s finance minister said Saturday that developed nations like the United States were seeking to solve their own economic problems at the expense of the developing world.

The minister, Guido Mantega, said wealthy countries were attempting “to export their way out of difficult economic situations” by printing money and keeping interest rates low. Those policies are driving up the prices of food and oil, causing particular pain for the world’s poorest people, Mr. Mantega told the policy-making committee of the International Monetary Fund.

His strong remarks highlight the challenges the United States and Europe face as they try to change their economic relationship with the developing world. In place of unsustainable borrowing to fuel consumption of imported goods, they would like to sell more goods and services to those countries. The problem is that developing nations, losing business from their best customers, hope to replace sales by increasing domestic consumption — selling to the same customers developed nations are trying to reach.

It is a dispute that plays out largely in terms of exchange, with both sides charging that their rivals are boosting exports by artificially suppressing the value of their currencies.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/world/americas/17imf.html?_r=1&ref=world

[AdHocSolver]

1. Increasing exports won't help the people of the U.S.

What the U.S. needs to do to help the people of the U.S. is to limit imports to give American companies who want to manufacture goods in the U.S. using American workers the ability to compete with the multinational corporations who offshore jobs to low wage countries.

This means not to devalue the U.S. currency which increases inflation for American consumers.

There is no "free" trade. The current system rigs the world's economies to the sole benefit of the multinational corporations. The Brazilian finance minister is absolutely correct.

[EFerrari]

2. Hillary was promoting another FTA this weekend, iirc, in Asia.n/t

[The Northerner]

3. by printing money and keeping interest rates low

Mantega knows more about the negative economic effects of inflationism and low-interest rates than the current bankster--I mean Fed chairman--does.

Amazing.