Benson: The concept of a strong dollar is not just about exchange rates.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Benett distinguished between maintaining a strong dollar policy and solely focusing on exchange rates. "When people talk about a strong dollar, I don't think it's the Bloomberg Dollar Index," Benett said in response to a question after a speech at the New York Economic Club on Tuesday evening. "I think it means that we are taking various measures to lay the foundation for people to want to come to this country, whether it's tax certainty, regulatory certainty, or energy certainty." He stated that a strong dollar is not contradictory to a strong manufacturing sector. "Germany used to be an industrial powerhouse, and they relied on a strong currency," which made Germany more efficient, innovative, and productive. Regarding the dollar's decline since the beginning of last year: "I don't wake up and think, great, this is helpful for the economy. I think it's just flickering prices on a screen." He noted that currency devaluations in low-cost manufacturing countries could be detrimental to the US; "I often think, this might not necessarily be because of a strong dollar. Maybe like in Southeast Asian countries, because they have more control over their currency but it could also just be that other currencies are weak."