In an essay series for The Globalist, Rob Atkinson reponds to Barry Eichengreen's argument that a weaker dollar will do little to reverse the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs overseas. Atkinson argues in the absence of mercantilist policies, including currency manipulation by many U.S. competitors, we would have expanded, not lost, higher skilled complex production to make up for it. And as ITIF and other signatories advocated in our Charter to Revitalize U.S. Manufacturing, we need to take domestic steps as well to shore up and retool manufacturing. The livelihoods of millions of American workers and the future vitality of the American economy demand no less.
