Gm Rips Strong Dollar Policy Automaker Says Weak Yen Gives Japanese An Edge In U.S. Market

The Clinton administration’s “acquiescence” to Japan’s moves to weaken the yen is allowing Japanese automakers to unfairly gain a bigger share of the U.S. market, a General Motors executive asserted.

In one of the industry’s sharpest attacks on the dollar’s rise against the Japanese currency, G. Richard Wagoner Jr., president of GM’s North American operations, said Wednesday that “it’s a mystery to me why the U.S. continues to accept Japan’s attempt to export its problems.”

Wagoner said there was no economic reason for the yen’s fall to 122 to the dollar on Tuesday from its peak of about 80 in April 1995. On Wednesday, the dollar surpassed 123 yen for the first time in four years.

“If you talk to traders, there was a very concerted effort by the Japanese government … aided and abetted by a U.S. decision, apparently, that a strong dollar is good,” he said.

The Big Three automakers are nervous about the effect of the weaker yen on U.S. auto sales and the cost of selling their cars in Japan. A weaker yen makes Japanese-made goods cheaper here and U.S. goods more expensive in Japan.

In January, Japan’s automakers made big gains in the U.S. market. Toyota’s sales were up 56 percent compared with its weak showing in January 1996; Honda’s U.S. sales gained 21 percent; and Nissan’s sales rose 11 percent.

The result was Asian automakers’ U.S. market share increased to 25.3 percent for the month, compared with 21.9 percent a year earlier. The Big Three’s share fell to 70.9 percent from 74.7 percent.