Call it a bikini war. As the BBC reported recently, makers of Brazil’s famous bikinis are struggling to compete with Chinese producers, which benefit from China’s weak currency.
The US is hoping Brazil is so fed up with Chinese competitors undermining its domestic industries – not just manufacturers of skimpy swimwear – that it will join America to press for a stronger renminbi. It is unclear whether Brazil’s new president will respond to the US overtures, or China would pay attention.
But Beijing has a good domestic reason to accept a stronger currency: it is running out of options. On Tuesday, the central bank hiked interest rates again. It has squeezed banks by pushing up reserve requirements, briefly upsetting the domestic money markets as banks scrambled for cash.