Following is the text of a statementby the Group of Seven -- the U.S., Japan, West Germany, France,
Britain, Italy and Canada -- issued after a Washington meeting
yesterday.
    1. The finance ministers and central bank governors of
seven major industrial countries met today.
    They continued the process of multilateral surveillance of
their economies pursuant to the arrangements for strengthened
economic policy coordination agreed at the 1986 Tokyo summit of
their heads of state or government.
    The managing director of the International Monetary Fund
also participated in the meeting.
    2. The ministers and governors reaffirmed the commitment to
the cooperative approach agreed at the recent Paris meeting,
and noted the progress achieved in implementing the
undertakings embodied in the Louvre Agreement.
    They agreed, however, that further actions will be
essential to resist rising protectionist pressures, sustain
global economic expansion, and reduce trade imbalances.
    In this connection they welcomed the proposals just
announced by the governing Liberal Democratic Party in Japan
for extraordinary and urgent measures to stimulate Japan's
economy through early implementation of a large supplementary
budget exceeding those of previous years, as well as
unprecedented front-end loading of public works expenditures.
    The government of Japan reaffirmed its intention to further
open up its domestic markets to foreign goods and services.
    3. The ministers and governors reaffirmed the view that
around current levels their currencies are within ranges
broadly consistent with economic fundamentals and the basic
policy intentions outlined at the Louvre meeting.
    In that connection they welcomed the strong implementation
of the Louvre Agreement.
    They concluded that present and prospective progress in
implementing the policy undertakings at the Louvre and in this
statement provided a basis for continuing close cooperation to
foster the stability of exchange rates.
 REUTER
