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Fair use for educational/research purposes onlyNations Urged on US Dolla r Reliance
Updated 3:48 AM ET January 14, 2001 By YURI KAGEYAMA, Associated Press Writer
KOBE, Japan (AP) - Japan and France are urging Asian nations to adopt currency systems less dominated by the U.S. dollar, saying the change could ward off financial crises like the 1997-98 Asian collapse.
The joint proposal was made at a gathering of European and Asian finance ministers ending Sunday in the Japanese port city of Kobe.
The proposal said currency systems effectively pegged to the dollar severely hurt Asian nations - which traded with countries using currencies other than the dollar - by dashing their competitive edge during the regional crisis.
The proposal underlines a disenchantment with the dollar in Asia as well as hopes in the region for its own single currency like the euro in Europe.
The France-Japan proposal suggests as one solution a "basket" of various currencies - including the euro and the Japanese yen as well as the dollar - to set a range of value for a nation's currency.
Worries about the recent U.S. economic slowdown and the exchange of views on currencies were the main topics at the meeting - the third of its kind aimed at strengthening financial ties between Europe and Asia.
Still, it is unlikely the officials gathered in Kobe will agree on a single currency system anytime soon. Despite past economic troubles, the dollar remains a powerful currency in Asia.
http://news.excite.com/news/ap/010114/03/japan-france-currency
-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), January 14, 2001