On October 30, the U.S. Treasury blamed Germany for “dragging down its neighbors and the rest of the global economy.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Treasury specifically focused on Germany’s “export-led growth model as a major factor responsible for the 17-nation currency bloc’s weak recovery.”
It was not the first time that the Obama administration had criticized Germany. In the past, President Barack Obama has tried to convince Chancellor Angela Merkel to abandon “austerity” policies–without success. At the same time, the Obama administration has counted on Germany’s success in pressuring it to continue bailing out debt-laden members of the European Union.
The Treasury Department had far more criticism for Germany than for its “traditional target”–China. And also far more criticism than it doles to Japan, which rounded out the top three worst economic offenders, in the Obama administration’s estimation.
The U.S. has avoided any overt criticism of Germany “since the early stages of the euro-debt crisis in 2010.” This is because of Germany’s “central role in keeping the currency bloc intact.”
Now it appears that “President Barack Obama and his top officials” have been smiling on the outside while working carefully behind the scenes to push Germany to make economic changes.
The tension over Germany’s “export-led growth model” comes at time when relations between the U.S. and Germany are strained due to spying allegations against the National Security Agency.
Image source: Jim Geraghty, National Review Online
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins
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