Regulating Currency Manipulation: Political, Legal and Economic Barriers to Reform

The current international legal framework for trade is not designed to explicitly address the issue of currency manipulation. This oversight in the framework has contributed to the proliferation of nations employing currency manipulation as a mechanism to aid their export competitiveness. This article adds to the current debate surrounding currency manipulation by analysing a number of proposed reforms to the current international legal framework aimed at addressing the issue. These reform proposals will be evaluated against a number of political and legal challenges that face any reform initiative. By examining the broader political and diplomatic considerations that would underpin any attempt at reform, the article concludes that there are significant barriers to preventing the practice of currency manipulation.