Trumpland

Trump Advisers Scheme to Devalue Dollar in Potential Second Term: Report

DOLLAR DOWN

It’s an aggressive move designed to reduce the trade deficit—but risks losing the dollar’s coveted status as world reserve currency.

Former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer speaks during a panel discussion on the economy during the America First Agenda Summit, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel on July 26, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Donald Trump’s key advisers are reportedly plotting new ways to devalue the U.S. currency if he wins the presidential election in November, Politico reported. The move would be an aggressive and risky effort to lift U.S. exports and reduce the trade deficit at the expense of ballooning inflation and endangering the dollar’s global dominance and status as the world’s main reserve currency. The potentially explosive plans are being dreamed up by Robert Lighthizer, a former Trump administration official who also leads economic policy at his America First Policy Institute, three former Trump-era officials told Politico. Lighthizer is a potential Treasury Secretary pick for Trump, but the sources cautioned that the currency devaluation plot might disappear if Trump appointed someone else. It would likely be opposed by Wall Street and its allies, so a Trump-appointed exec would be much less likely to pursue it.

Read it at Politico