WASHINGTON --At the International Monetary Fund and World Bank sessions starting here this week, the United States will probably push for faster growth in other industrial countries and more debt relief for Russia, Western officials said.
President Bush and Gov. Bill Clinton, who is leading him in the polls, both favor aid for Russia. And Gov. Clinton would probably agree with Mr. Bush on the need for Germany to spur global growth.
At the meetings, there may still be some tension over the relatively small rate cuts by Germany. A senior U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity described the German reductions as "puny."
Clinton Factor Minimized
Though the possibility of a Clinton presidency is sure to trigger speculation over who his economic team might be, analysts doubt it will have much impact on the meetings.
"I don't think it will have an enormous effect," said Robert Solomon, a former senior Fed official now with the Brookings Institution.
"There's not likely to be an enormous difference of view between the two candidates" on international economic issues.
The administration has been a frequent critic of the Federal Reserve Board of not cutting domestic interest rates more aggressively to stimulate the economy.
"The economy really, for all intents and purposes, is dead in the water, said Mellon Bank economist Norman Robertson. "There has been no growth," and the job markets are weak.
The man behind the scenes for the United States at the international agency meetings is Treasury Under Secretary David Mulford.
Leading Candidates
Among those mentioned as candidates for that slot in a Clinton administration are C. Fred Bergsten, director of the Institute for International Economics in Washington, and Robert Hormats, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International, New York.
Both are former U.S. officials and are well versed in international economic affairs.
Analysts said neither would be expected to make any radical shifts in U.S. policy if he became treasury under secretary, although some changes in emphasis would be likely.
Mr. Bergsten, who is said to be in touch occasionally with Mr. Mulford, has recently criticized the Group of Seven industrial countries for not acting more forcefully to drive up the value of Japanese yen on world currency markets.
Mr. Hormats has been critical of what he saw as the administration's tolerance of a weaker dollar, arguing that this would hurt the U.S. economy in the long run.
