EU’s Barroso Says Competitive Devaluations Are ‘Not Acceptable’

20/05/2013 12:00 - 448 Views

European Commission President Jose Barroso said euro-area policymakers would oppose any efforts by trade partners to gain an economic advantage by weakening their currencies.

“Competitive devaluations are simply not acceptable,” Barroso told a business conference today in Brussels. “We don’t think that the currency rate should be used as a way of gaining competitiveness.”

Barroso said he had discussed the question of exchange rates with Roberto Azevedo, the new designated director-general of the World Trade Organization, and expressed hope that the WTO would be “attentive” to the issue of currency manipulation.

The commission is the executive arm of the 27-nation European Union, 17 of whose members share the euro.

May 16, 2013 6:27 PM GMT

By Jonathan Stearns

Source: Bloomberg.com