Trump Economic Advisor Bashes Germany On Currency: Report

WASHINGTON, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jan, 2017 ) - A top economic advisor to US President Donald Trump bashed Germany for exploiting an undervalued euro to take advantage of its trading partners, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.

The public rebuke of a major trading partner is the latest example of the brash tactic that has become a feature of the new US administration, with Trump himself using public attacks and Twitter to criticize businesses and allies, including Mexico.

Peter Navarro, who advised Trump during the campaign and heads the White House's new National Trade Council, said in an interview with the FT that Germany "continues to exploit other countries in the EU as well as the US with an 'implicit Deutsche mark' that is grossly undervalued." Navarro, a hardliner on trade and especially China's rise, also said the planned trade deal between the United States and European Union -- the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership -- was dead.

He repeated Trump's statements that the administration will pursue bilateral agreements that favor the United States. The criticism of Germany is not new as the country has large trade and current account surpluses, and the International Monetary Fund, for example, has repeatedly urged the country to increase spending to boost consumption and the sluggish economic growth in the EU.

Germany is an exporting powerhouse and gains a trade advantage by being part of the eurozone where the Currency value is held down due to the weak economies in the union, like Greece, Spain and Italy, economists say. Were Germany to operate outside the currency union, the Deutsche mark value would be much higher, making the country's exports more expensive and less competitive.