Barclays: The Trump administration may justify tariff policy by alleging currency manipulation

Barclays economists said in a report that although no Asian country seemed to have manipulated exchange rates last year, this might not prevent the United States from targeting Asia's foreign exchange policies. Barclays' calculations on changes in foreign exchange reserves indicate that the weak dollar in February led to dollar buying in Asia, which could continue into March. The longer the dollar is under pressure, the more likely Asian central banks are to intervene during heightened trade pressures to prevent their currencies from strengthening. The bank added: "In our view, it is possible for the U.S. government to use currency manipulation as a justification for various actions including tariffs."