2017-01-17cnbc.com

Presidents in recent history have refrained from talking the currency up or down, and Chandler says going back to Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, the policy has been for a strong dollar. Even when the dollar's strength created headwinds, administrations have stood by it, at least verbally.

Trump said the dollar was already "too strong," and he pointed a finger at the Chinese currency. "Our companies can't compete with them now because our currency is too strong. And it's killing us," he told the newspaper. Trump said the yuan has been "dropping like a rock," and that recent Chinese moves to support its currency were done "because they don't want us to get angry."

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"It raises questions. Are we back to Lloyd Benson? He talked the dollar down and the dollar collapsed. Is this a jettison of the Rubin strong dollar policy? We don't know," said Chandler.

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Woo said he does not expect Mnuchin to tout the strong dollar policy. Instead, he expects him to stop short of it as he did in a recent CNBC interview by more or less saying a strong "economy" is in the best interest of the U.S. That is very like the comment made by Lew on Tuesday.

This is one of the simplest, most effective things Trump can do (as it addresses the all-important monetary front of U.S. economic challenges, and apparently, is all Trump cares to do on that front) -- of course, there is a risk of it overshooting badly. The real bold move would be to re-back the dollar with gold when it is at its nadir, but that would take "work" to setup, not just gum-flapping/twitter tapping.



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