WASHINGTON, Dec 15 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush said Wednesday he hoped to "send a signal" to financial markets that he is serious about a strong dollar by tackling short- and long-term budget deficits.
"The policy of my government is a strong dollar policy," Bush said as he met with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in the Oval Office. "We believe that the markets should make the decision about the relationship between the dollar and the euro."
"To the extent that the federal government is involved with making the conditions set so a strong dollar will emerge, we'll do everything we can in the upcoming legislative session to send a signal to the markets that we'll deal with our deficits, which hopefully will cause people to want to buy dollars," he said.
For the US economy, the dollar slide is not all bad: "Made in USA" exports are now comparatively cheaper than their competition -- notably from Europe, where the euro has hit historic highs against the US currency.
Bush said that, in response to Berlusconi's "concerns" about the dollar-euro relationship, he had pledge to "take this issue on seriously with the Congress."
"The best thing that we can do from the executive branch of government in America is to work with Congress to deal with our deficits," as well as problems with the Social Security retirement fund, said Bush.
12/15/2004 18:08 GMT - AFP