International economic relations of the United States, just as domestic ones, were heavily influenced by the recession of 1974-75 and by the resultant economic policies undertaken by most U.S. trading partners. U.S. merchandise trade responded to both the longer-term depreciation of the dollar and to differences in the severity and timing of the recessions here and abroad. Short-term fluctuations in capital movements and exchange rates were dominated by differential growth in output, differences in monetary and fiscal policies, and differences in interest rates among trading nations.