Brady: Japan, S. Korea and W. Germany Lax on Trade Surpluses
The Bush administration yesterday named South Korea, West Germany and Japan as countries that need to do more to reduce the huge trade surpluses they are running with the United States.</br></br>The administration's assessment, delivered by Treasury Secretary Nicholas F. Brady and undersecretary-designate David Mulford, was particularly critical of West Germany and South Korea.</br></br>The officials, testifying before the Senate Banking Committee, indicated that those two countries need significant changes in their domestic economic policies to promote reductions in global trade imbalances.</br></br>Mulford said pointedly that discussions with South Korean officials had at times been "quite frustrating." While some progress has been made in getting the government to allow its currency to strengthen in relation to the U.S. dollar, Mulford said more needed to be done in this area to make U.S. goods cheaper in Korea.</br></br>Earlier this week, South Korean Deputy Prime Minister Soon Cho met with administration officials in Washington to discuss trade. Cho indicated to reporters that he was resisting pressure to allow the Korean currency to appreciate further against the dollar.