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BDI Criticizes US Over Weak Dollar

February 23, 2005
https://p.dw.com/p/6Hhs

The German industry federation BDI hit out at the Bush administration Wednesday for doing nothing to prevent the dollar from falling against the euro. "We take note that the US twin deficits (the budget and current account deficits) lead to problems," BDI chief Ludolf von Wartenberg told the Financial Times Deutschland in an interview. "And it's up to the Americans to solve those problems", he continued. "If we had comparable budget problems here, we'd say that the government should not continue to lower taxes. But that is exactly what the US administration is doing," von Wartenberg complained. Von Wartenberg, formerly a state secretary in the economy ministry under former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, said that the current euro-dollar exchange rate of around $1.30 had "no economic justification". The euro exchange rate of $1.17 when the single currency was launched "was okay," von Wartenberg said. "A rate of 1.10-1.15 dollars would be good." German companies are concerned that the euro will harm their exports, which so far have been the main driving force behind growth in the eurozone's biggest economy, while domestic demand remains stuck in the doldrums.