Bush maintains 'strong dollar' view ahead of G8
WASHINGTON (AFP) — President George W. Bush said Wednesday that he would reiterate a "strong dollar" policy at the upcoming Group of Eight summit while opposing moves toward protectionism.
"We're strong dollar people in this administration and have always been for a strong dollar," Bush told journalists at the White House when asked about the troubles of the US currency.
"And (we) believe that the relative strengths of our economy will reflect that. One thing we need to make clear when I'm with our partners is that we're not going to become protectionists. We believe in free trade and open markets. One of the fears around the world is that the United States becomes a protectionist nation."
Bush said the G8 being held July 7-9 in Toyako, northern Japan will also discuss issues about trade and the surge in energy prices.
"It's an opportunity for those of us in the G8 and the other nations coming to talk about a successful round of Doha," referring to the foundering plan to liberalize global trade under the auspices of the World Trade Organization.
"The United States is firmly committed to Doha. We're working hard to get this done by the end of the year. And it'll be a good opportunity in Japan to discuss what we need to do together to open up market access and to reduce agricultural subsidies."
As for oil, Bush said: "I'll remind people it took us a while to get into the energy situation we're in, it's going to take us a while to get out of it."
He added that "here in the United States, that we can help alleviate shortages by drilling for oil and gas in our own country, something I've been advocating ever since I've been the president. I've been reminding our people that we can do so in environmentally friendly ways ... It makes no sense for -- to watch these gasoline prices rise when we know we can help affect the supply of crude oil which should affect the supply of gasoline prices."
"Ultimately, of course, we're going to transition away from hydrocarbons. But we're now just in a transitional period, and we need more oil to be able to do so," Bush added.
