For the first time, the US government blatantly accuses Germany of being responsible, with its economic policies, for the weakness of the Eurozone. According to the US Treasury's semi-annual report on currency manipulation, Berlin is betting too much on exports and not on domestic demand.
The public attack sounds like something new. There had always been criticism of the Germans, considered one of Washington's best allies and one of the top four global economic powers, but until now they had been discussed behind the scenes and with great diplomacy.
Moreover, the manipulation report usually deals with countries such as China, Japan and South Korea, which are suspected of keeping exchange rates artificially low to bolster their international competitiveness. This does not appear to be the case for the euro, which this year has so far appreciated by 4% against the dollar.
But Germany is now mentioned even before China in the conclusions of the document, the so-called 'Key findings', where the countries considered problematic by America are listed.
