The end of the 30-year-old Multi-Fiber Arrangement's textile quota system on Jan. 1 has resulted in a surge of Chinese exports and increased American pressure on China to revalue its currency amid accusations that Beijing is responsible for America's trade deficit by "manipulating" its currency.
Just how this "manipulation" has been achieved when the exchange rate has remained unchanged for a decade is not explained.
On May 20, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said in New York that revaluation of the Chinese yuan would not necessarily help to reduce the American trade deficit. "Indeed, it's probably quite unlikely," he said.