‘U.S. wants to resolve FTA issue soon’

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told President Lee Myung-bak on Saturday that Washington hoped to conclude talks with Seoul on their free trade pact before the G20 summit in Seoul next week. 

“Secretary Clinton delivered President Obama’s message that the U.S. wants to complete consultations between the governments (of the two sides) on the FTA issues before the Seoul G20 summit next month,” Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Kim Hee-jung said.

Lee replied that his government also wants an early end to the process and will make utmost efforts for it, she added.

U.S. dollar printing ‘out of control’: China

SHANGHAI (AP) Out-of-control printing of the U.S. dollar is forcing inflation on China, pushing up prices for commodities and labor, trade minister Chen Deming says in an escalation of rhetoric over currency and other tensions ahead of key international meetings.

Beijing has been chafing at U.S. pressure over its currency and massive imbalances in trade and investment that are symptomatic of deeper problems in the world economy ― Asia and China’s addiction to weak currencies to boost their export-reliant economies and the legacy of debt-fueled consumption in the U.S.

Fearing a trade war that could send the world economy into reverse, finance chiefs from the Group of 20 leading advanced and developed nations last weekend vowed to avoid weakening their currencies. But they did not set specific targets for reducing imbalances such as China’s huge trade surplus and the U.S. trade deficit.

“Uncontrolled printing of dollars and rising international prices for commodities are causing an imported inflationary ‘shock’ for China and are a key factor behind increasing uncertainty,” the state-run newspaper China Business News quoted Chen as saying while attending the autumn session of the Canton Trade Fair.

Concern over the potential inflationary impact of stimulus spending, funded by newly printed dollars, is not limited to China.

Printing more money is often associated with a related rise in prices, as a largerpool of cash chases a finite number of investing and buying opportunities.