U.S. URGES SURPLUS NATIONS TO BOOST GROWTH

  Leading industrial nations will be
  reviewing the Paris agreement to stabilize exchange rates,
  foster increased worldwide growth and reduce trade imbalances
  but the U.S. thinks the accord has been successful so far, a
  senior U.S. Treasury official said.
      "The Paris accord will be reviewed at this meeting. It has
  been successful and continues to be succesfull," a senior U.S.
  Treasury official told reporters.
      In a briefing ahead of this week's semiannual IMF and World
  Bank meetings, he also said the U.S. was looking to West
  Germany and Japan to bolster their economic growth.
      The official said both surplus countries, like West Germany
  and Japan, and deficit countries, like the U.S., agreed to play
  a role in bringing about more balanced economic growth.
      He reaffirmed the U.S. would press ahead with efforts to
  reduce its budget deficit, resist protectionism and boost U.S.
  competitiveness.
      The official also said that he expected trade issues, like
  the dispute between the U.S. and Japan over microchips, to be
  included in the discussions.
      The official made no direct comment on the content or
  schedule of forthcoming Group of Five and Group of Seven
  discussions. He said that industrial countries are concerned
  that the large external imbalances remain a threat to the
  international monetary system.
      He added that the meetings will also provide an opportunity
  to discuss economic policy coordination efforts.
      The official said indicators would be used to measure
  policy objectives of industrial countries and their economic
  projections.
      They would also be used to assess progress of policy goals.
      Asked whether the U.S. was proposing a new initiative
  regarding the indicators, the official said the issue would be
  reported to the Venice Summit in June. Monetary sources said
  the U.S. proposal envisages using the indicators to make policy
  coordination agreements, like the Paris Accord, more binding.
  

