Although the U.S. Treasury has not reiterated its "strong dollar" policy during the course of the greenback's recent slide against the Japanese yen and other units, there has been no change in U.S. dollar policy, Steve Beckner writes. It remains the Bush administration's belief that "a strong dollar is in the United States' interest," as U.S. officials have said many times since that stance was first adopted in the mid-90s by the Clinton administration, MNI is reliably informed. When the Treasury declined to comment on the dollar's drop last week and did not take the opportunity to reaffirm the "strong dollar" policy, some took it as a hint that U.S. authorities were retreating from that policy. But MNI is told that the "no comment" should not be so interpreted. Nor does the administration's decision to support protection for the steel industry have anything to do with dollar policy, as some have speculated, Market News International understands.