In October 1959, Yale Professor Robert Triffin told the Joint Economic Committee of Congress that the Bretton Woods system was doomed. The dollar could not survive as the world's reserve currency without requiring the [[United States]] to run ever-growing [[trade deficit]]s.
+
In October 1959, Yale Professor Robert Triffin told the Joint Economic Committee of Congress that the Bretton Woods system was doomed. The dollar could not survive as the world's reserve currency without requiring the [[United States]] to run ever-growing [[trade deficit]]s. This is the fatal burden that comes with issuing the world's reserve currency. Demand for US dollar-denominated reserve assets leads to inevitable trade imbalances and a weak US manufacturing environment. Artificial demand for the US dollar keeps it perpetually, unnaturally high compared to every other currency. A strong dollar makes US exports incredibly - uncompetitively - expensive.