, Columnist
There Is No Easy Fix For the German Surplus
Germany's advantage is temporary but not necessarily unfair.
Nice at any price.
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Officials may not say so directly, but the U.S. appears to consider Germany a currency manipulator. Germany's large trade surplus, the accusation goes, comes at the expense of U.S. companies.
So, as German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble traveled to Washington on Wednesday for an International Monetary Fund meeting, he brought along an eight-page primer on the German current account balance. President Trump may not take the time to read it, but it could be useful to others who believe Germany is creating an unfair trade advantage for itself.