Brazil discounts deal with the U.S. to pressure China over yuan

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Brazil has no plans to launch a joint initiative with the United States to pressure China to mend its ways over the market value of China's yuan, officials said.

Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega said, as far as Brazil was concerned, the country had as many problems with the Federal Reserve's handling of the weak dollar as with China's maneuvers to keep the yuan attractive for importers of Chinese goods.

Brazil has been facing dual pressures on its trade, as a strong real threatens to make its exports less attractive to foreign buyers and builds up its import bill with cheap or competitive foreign imports.

The low dollar and yuan parities with the real have flooded Brazilian markets with merchandise that planners say is likely to damage Brazil's economy and manufacturing infrastructure in the medium to long term.

Mantega's comments aimed to put at rest speculation that recent visits to the country by senior U.S. government officials and members of the U.S. Congress might be aimed at eliciting Brazilian support to a wider initiative to pressure Beijing over the yuan.

Analysts and commentators from the Group of 20 economies say China is causing problems with trade and currencies by manipulating the value of its currency. Mantega echoed an official Brazilian view, widely publicized in the media, that the Federal Reserve efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy are causing just as many problems for Brazil.

The Group of 20 includes finance ministers and central bank governors of 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank.

The debate over the alleged currency wars came ahead of the group's meeting Friday and Saturday in Paris.

High on the senior officials' agenda is a long-simmering dispute over the way China sets the value of its currency to give its exporters an edge over rival trading nations.

The United States is among countries campaigning against Chinese currency policies. Brazilian analysts say the United States may be a victim of the Chinese currency maneuvers but its own efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy with low interest rates and other measures affect countries such as Brazil.

While developed and industrialized nations have struggled to revive investor interest in their economies, Brazil has witnessed a flood of overseas investment, resulting in overvaluation of the real, creating an unexpected headache for the regulators. Industry sources said other Latin American countries including Chile would likely face the problem of enthusiastic investors streaming into their buoyant economies hopeful of better returns.