Europe should pursue policies to spur growth and keep their markets open. The U.S. must maintain the fiscal discipline which has helped lower interest rates, and fuel investment and job growth. We must likewise preserve open markets for Asian and others' products, and resist protectionist pressures. We also need to do more to help give the IMF the additional resources it needs to prevent and mitigate the spread of financial distress. That is why President Clinton has urged Congress as a priority to support the full IMF funding package.
Japan likewise has a critical role to play.
You are in your worst recession since World War II, with 8 years of slow growth and now three consecutive quarters of negative growth. Precisely because of the importance of our overall relationship, our two countries must discuss fully, candidly, and often the challenges that confront us both. Foremost among them now is the need to restore to the Japanese economy the vitality and growth for which it has been justly famous. This is critically important not only for Japan and the welfare of the Japanese people, but also for the Asian and other emerging markets struggling with their present difficulties, and indeed for the world as a whole. I cannot overemphasize the joint responsibility our two countries share as leaders of the interconnected global economy.