Donald Trump’s key advisers are reportedly plotting new ways to devalue the U.S. currency if he wins the presidential election in November, Politico reported. The move would be an aggressive and risky effort to lift U.S. exports and reduce the trade deficit at the expense of ballooning inflation and endangering the dollar’s dominance among world currencies. If the dollar were no longer the world reserve currency, which could affect U.S. sanctions. The potentially explosive plans are being dreamed up by Robert Lighthizer, a former Trump administration official who also leads economic policy at his America First Policy Institute, three former Trump-era officials told Politico. Lighthizer is a potential Treasury Secretary pick for Trump, but the sources cautioned that the currency devaluation plot might disappear if Trump appointed someone else. It would likely be opposed by Wall Street and its allies, so a Trump-appointed exec would be much less likely to pursue it.
