Chuck Hagel: “First, our economy is connected to all economies of the world. When Asian markets go down and currencies are devalued…”

“First, our economy is connected to all economies of the world. When Asian markets go down and currencies are devalued, that means very simply that we in the United States cannot sell our products in Asia. Asia has represented over the last few years the most important new export opportunity for all of the United States--not just commodities and agriculture, but all exports. What we are doing today is connected to all parts of the world. We understand something very fundamental about markets and that is that markets respond to confidence. We in the United States--because it is, in fact, in our best interests to participate and lead, not to bail people out, not the IMF bailing anybody out, but what we are doing through a very deliberate businesslike approach, an approach through the IMF established 50 years ago--are participating in a loan process where this country has never lost $1.”