Correa Says Ecuador Dollar Policy `Complete Failure'

Ecuador's decision to adopt the U.S. dollar has been ``a complete failure,'' hurting economic growth and exports, President Rafael Correa said.

Ecuador adopted the dollar as its official currency in 2000, a year after defaulting on $6.5 billion in debt. The move attracted investors, revived the banking system and helped slash inflation to 2.9 percent last year from 108 percent in 2000.

Use of the dollar is now hurting exporters, limiting job creation, crimping economic growth and only benefiting the financial and oil industries, Correa said in Guayaquil tonight, where he gave details about his economic plan.

``We've stabilized at price levels that are far too high,'' Correa said. ``The dollar has been a complete failure.''

Evidence of Ecuador's weak economic growth is masked by high oil prices, Correa said. The country's non-oil trade deficit in 2006 was six times higher than in 2000, he said.
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