Schaeuble: Euro exchange rate is too weak for Germany

4/2/2017

The euro's exchange rate is too low for Germany and the European Central Bank's expansive monetary policy has boosted the German economy's export surplus, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in a newspaper interview.

Schaeuble made the comments after U.S. President Donald Trump's top trade adviser said earlier this week that Germany was using a "grossly undervalued" euro to gain advantage over the United States and its European partners.

"The ECB must make policy that works for Europe as a whole," Schaeuble said in a pre-released interview for Sunday's edition of Germany's Tagesspiegel. "It is too loose for Germany."

"The euro exchange rate is, strictly speaking, too low for the German economy's competitive position," he said. "When ECB chief Mario Draghi embarked on the expansive monetary policy, I told him he would drive up Germany's export surplus."

"I promised then not to publicly criticise this (policy) course. But then I don't want to be criticised for the consequences of this policy," Schaeuble said.

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