Flexible Wechselkurse sollten Länder daran hindern, ihre Währungen zu manipulieren, doch durch Akkumulation großer Mengen an US-Schatzanleihen hielten die ostasiatischen Länder, insbesondere China, ihre Währungen künstlich niedrig.
Floating exchange rates were supposed to prevent countries from manipulating their currencies, but, by accumulating large quantities of US treasury bills, East Asian countries, especially China, kept their exchange rates artificially low.