U.S. automakers write to White House on weak yen
Reuters, 02.06.02, 4:50 PM ET
CHICAGO, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The top executives of the U.S. Big Three auto manufacturers have sent a rare joint letter to the White House, asking to President Bush to appeal to the Japanese government to stop weakening the yen in order to boost the profits of Japanese automakers, industry officials said on Wednesday.
The chief executive officers of General Motors Corp. (nyse: GM - news - people), Ford Motor Co. (nyse: F - news - people) and DaimlerChrysler AG's (nyse: DCX - news - people)<DCXGn.DE> Chrysler, which together account for nearly 4 percent of the U.S. economy, said in the letter sent last week that the weak yen is a threat to U.S. economic recovery.
"The letter is expressing their strong concern about the adverse competitive impact on all U.S. manufacturing industries," Stephen Collins, president of the Automotive Trade Policy Council, which represents U.S. automakers. "It's creating a competitive disadvantage for U.S. companies and hurting the restoration of the recovery in the manufacturing sector."
U.S. automakers charge that Japan, in an effort to stimulate its weak economy, has purposely weakened the yen in order to make Japan automakers more profitable from their sales of new cars and trucks in the U.S. market.
The Bush administration has not yet responded to the letter, Collins said. But the White House has scheduled meetings with auto industry officials before Bush leaves on a trip to Asia, including a stop in Japan, at the end of next week, he added.
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