主题：关于中美汇率之争的一点讨论 -- klinsten

FT上有篇文章如下。向各位请教个问题：美联储和美国财政部到底能不能也算是在操纵汇率？中国和美国汇率调控的机制有什么不同？

谢谢大家！

Soaring US trade deficit fuels tension

By Alan Beattie in Washington and Alan Rappeport in New York

Published: October 14 2010 19:58 | Last updated: October 14 2010 19:58

The US trade deficit soared in August as surging Chinese imports worsened global economic imbalances and stoked rising American anger over China’s exchange rate policy.

The data, published on Thursday, came before Friday’s release deadline for the US Treasury’s twice-yearly report on exchange rates, in which it has to decide whether or not formally to name China as a currency manipulator. The Treasury, in spite of congressional pressure, has so far refrained from using the label, arguing that it makes no practical difference to relations with Beijing.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Chinese imports widen US trade gap - Oct-14

Opinion: China’s Achilles heel - Oct-14

Two giants locked in a symbiotic embrace - Oct-07

beyondbrics: Give renminbi time - Oct-14

Clive Crook: Time to get tough with China - Oct-10

US inflation expectations reach highest since June - Oct-13

On the campaign trail for November’s midterm elections, there have been repeated references to the impact of Chinese trade on US jobs. The political factors might tip the balance somewhat towards breaking with precedent and labelling China a manipulator. But most informed observers in Washington think the Treasury will continue to hold back. The report earlier in the year was postponed for several months, in effect to give China time to allow the renminbi to start rising but officials said the report, or a statement about it, should be released on time this week.

Data released on Thursday by the commerce department showed the deficit in goods and services widening 8.7 per cent to $46.3bn. That was the second highest gap of the year, exceeding economists’ expectations. The rise was driven by US businesses stocking up on consumer goods and cars at the end of summer.

Exports ticked up 0.22 per cent to $153.8bn, the highest level in two years, but were outstripped by imports, which rose 2.1 per cent to $200.2bn. “The structural US trade deficit continues to persist on the lack of Chinese demand for US exports,” said Michael Woolfolk, analyst at BNY Mellon Global Markets.

Imports from China rose 6.1 per cent in August to a record $35.3bn. That left a US trade shortfall with its most politically sensitive trading partner at a record $28bn at a time when the US is intensifying its scrutiny of China for creating trade imbalances by undervaluing the renminbi.

Meetings of the International Monetary Fund in Washington at the weekend descended into a stand-off over exchange rates.

The US and China rehearsed their established positions, the US arguing that a more flexible renminbi was an essential part of securing the global economic recovery and reducing trade imbalances. China countered that the prospect of quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve was causing distortions and forcing other countries’ currencies higher.

Economists expect imports to the US to cool as the end of the year nears because consumer demand remains tepid. Ian Shepherdson, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics, noted that much of the expansion of the deficit in August was because of rising oil prices and a drop in aircraft orders.

The US deficit with China accounts for about half of its shortfall with the rest of the world. US deficits with the European Union, Canada and Japan also widened in August.

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