Washington, Mar 6 - Noting recent statements by high-ranking Japanese officials regarding the value of their currency, an issue that directly and unfairly affects the ability of American automakers to compete, Congressman Joe Knollenberg (MI-09) released the following statement:

“Japanese government officials during the past 48 hours have put out a series of coordinated statements intended to interfere with free and open global foreign exchange markets to prevent the appreciation of the yen.  The public statements by Japan’s Finance and Trade Ministers yesterday are consistent with past government ‘jawboning’ meant to signal that Japan will once again intervene in currency markets to curb a rising yen.

This latest round of interference directly contravenes agreements by governments, including Japan, with the G-7, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international financial institutions that governments will allow free and open markets to set currency levels.  Japan’s actions also directly repudiate the ongoing efforts by the Administration, the US Congress, and others to allow the value of world currencies to be set freely by market forces.

I have introduced legislation that would require action to be taken about this currency misalignment.  The time to address this issue is now, before our domestic auto industry is hurt any more by the implicit subsidy given to Japanese automakers through their currency.  The artificially weak Japanese yen must be left to reach its true value on the world’s freely traded currency markets.”

Knollenberg noted the following statements made by key Japanese government officials about the yen during the past 48 hours:

Economy Minister Hiroko Ota: “I am really concerned about the recent abnormal strengthening of the yen against the dollar. We're concerned about the effect that could have on corporate profits.”

Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga: [The government would] “keep watching movements in foreign exchange rates from now on.”

A small business owner, PTA president, homeowner association president, and parish leader, Congressman Joe Knollenberg has been a citizen leader in Oakland County for the better part of three decades. He was first elected to Congress in 1992 and is a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee.