Sunday, December 12, 2004
The New York Times > Business > World Business > Diverging Fortunes, Tied to the Dollar
The New York Times > Business > World Business > Diverging Fortunes, Tied to the Dollar: "Diverging Fortunes, Tied to the Dollar"
"If the euro goes to $1.40 and stays there for several years, it will cost us a lot of money," said Mr. Welcker, a lean, gray-haired 44-year-old who is the great-grandson of the company's founder. "The danger is that someone will get into our niche and take the business away from us."
Such warnings are echoing across Europe these days, as the Continent comes to grips with the likelihood that the Bush administration will tolerate a prolonged period of weakness in the dollar. Europe fears its exports will be choked off, which could strangle its fragile economic recovery.
In the United States, manufacturers, who have been sapped by the exodus of production and jobs to cheaper markets overseas in recent years, are rejoicing at the dollar's decline. For American exporters, the currency is a lubricant, greasing the way for their products.
"This is the perfect time for currencies to move back to sanity," said Franklin J. Vargo, a lobbyist with the National Association of Manufacturers. "The United States lost over three million manufacturing jobs from 2000 to 2003, and it's about time we put an end to that outflow."
"If the euro goes to $1.40 and stays there for several years, it will cost us a lot of money," said Mr. Welcker, a lean, gray-haired 44-year-old who is the great-grandson of the company's founder. "The danger is that someone will get into our niche and take the business away from us."
Such warnings are echoing across Europe these days, as the Continent comes to grips with the likelihood that the Bush administration will tolerate a prolonged period of weakness in the dollar. Europe fears its exports will be choked off, which could strangle its fragile economic recovery.
In the United States, manufacturers, who have been sapped by the exodus of production and jobs to cheaper markets overseas in recent years, are rejoicing at the dollar's decline. For American exporters, the currency is a lubricant, greasing the way for their products.
"This is the perfect time for currencies to move back to sanity," said Franklin J. Vargo, a lobbyist with the National Association of Manufacturers. "The United States lost over three million manufacturing jobs from 2000 to 2003, and it's about time we put an end to that outflow."
