Brazil criticizes US for expansionary monetary policies

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has criticized the United States for its expansionary monetary policies, saying they are hindering the progress of developing countries. Speaking on Monday after meeting with US President Barack Obama at the White House, Rousseff said such fiscal policies undermine the competitiveness of emerging economies like Brazil by keeping US interest rates low. "Expansionist monetary policies... ultimately lead to a depreciation in the value of the currencies of developed countries, thus impairing growth outlooks in emerging countries," the Brazilian president said. Last month, Rousseff accused the United States and European countries of unleashing an “monetary tsunami,” which she said is cannibalizing the emerging markets. Brazil, the world's sixth largest economy, is suffering from an appreciation of its currency, the Real, against the dollar, which the government blames on a "currency war" that has flooded the country with cheap dollars generated by easy credit.