Posted on 03/19/2002 11:33:46 PM PST by duck soup
WASHINGTON — A group of U.S. lawmakers accused Japan on Tuesday of manipulating foreign exchange markets to push the yen lower, and urged the Bush administration to take a stronger stand against the practice, which they said has hurt American carmakers.
In a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, the lawmakers say a 30% decline in Japan's yen against the dollar since Jan. 1, 2000 has made Japanese cars cheaper in the United States.
"This excessive weakening, which has been mirrored by the Korean won, is having a significant negative impact on the U.S. automotive industry," says the letter signed by 17 members of the U.S. House of Representatives including several from Michigan, home of the Big Three U.S. automakers.
"U.S. silence has been taken by currency traders as tacit approval of Japan's continued manipulation of their currency for its own benefit," the lawmakers said. Further intervention in currency markets by Japan "needs to be firmly discouraged by the U.S. Treasury as often as required."
The lawmakers said profits of General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and DaimlerChrysler were being hurt by Japan's "assault on the U.S, market" and urged O'Neill to make clear that Japan's actions were harmful U.S. manufacturers.
O'Neill has resisted past efforts by the National Association of manufacturers to persuade him that a costly dollar should be ratcheted down. He has said market forces determine currency values and good companies can operate in any environment.
NAM has said it intended to go to Capitol Hill to pursue its case and the lawmakers' letter to O'Neill echoes many of the lobby group's contentions. It says Japan has intervened at least 11 times since Sept 11 to keep the yen's value down. (Reuters News)
If the US automotive industry bothered to produce an affordable, quality product, it wouldn't be a 'significant negative impact' as described. After it was discovered Ford was covering up the Explorer problems, letting their customers die for the profit line, I'll never buy a Ford. Not because of the Japanese yen, but because they showed their complete disregard for their customers lives.
The Japanese can't compete anymore. Hell I remember when Volkswagen moved their operations to Michigan. Now look who builds bettles.
Of course not. Their automobiles are slapped with huge tarriffs by the good old US Government when they came to this country. Only way the US automakers could "compete" on "even" ground with the Japanese automakers at the time. Of course the Japanese worked around it and built plants locally instead. Always makes me chuckle to hear some US auotmaker CEO blowing on about how they can 'compete' with any other automaker. Yeah sure, I guess that's why you have to have the tarriffs imposed to make your competitions vehicles cost more then your own.
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