Washington, Jul 20 (EFE).- US President Donald Trump on Friday accused the European Union (EU) and China of manipulating their currencies and doubled down on his criticism of the Federal Reserve’s policy of raising interest rates.
“China, the European Union and others have been manipulating their currencies and interest rates lower, while the U.S. is raising rates while the dollars gets stronger and stronger with each passing day – taking away our big competitive edge. As usual, not a level playing field,” Trump said on Twitter.
These comments came after an exclusive interview with financial network CNBC in which the president threatened China with tariffs on $500 billion worth of its products imported by the United States.
On Thursday Trump also criticized the Fed due to the recent hikes in interest rates set by the institution.
“Debt coming due & we are raising rates – Really?” the president tweeted Friday.
Such statements by Trump break with the traditional presidential position of respecting the independence of the central banking system and refraining from commenting on monetary policy.
With regard to his criticism of the EU and China, they came in the context of the trade war Washington declared recently by imposing tariffs on its trade partners in a strict protectionist policy.
These measures have moved Europeans to adopt retaliatory measures against the US economy, and Beijing to present a formal complaint before the World Trade Organization (WTO).
To all of which Trump replied with another tweet: “The United States should not be penalized because we are doing so well.
Tightening now hurts all that we have done. The U.S. should be allowed to recapture what was lost due to illegal currency manipulation and BAD Trade Deals.”