Paulson was pressed on the issue during congressional testimony by Rep. Sander Levin, who questioned why the Bush administration was not doing more to encourage the Japanese government to halt the slide in the yen against the dollar.
American automakers believe that decline has given their Japanese competitors a tremendous price advantage.
Levin, whose state has car manufacuting plantsd, said that European auto companies were complaining about the yen's decline against their currencies. He suggested that Paulson should join forces with European finance ministers to lobby Japanese officials on the issue when the countries meet for the Group of Seven finance ministers meeting in Essen, Germany this weekend.
