Yes Bobby I am coming to the conclusion that as Japanese beggining to feel good about themselves in comparison to USA the sentiment and re-inflation efforts should bear the fruit....Yen below 125? Why not?
U.S. seeks ''fair shake'' in Japan public spending
03:09 p.m Sep 11, 1998 Eastern
By Donna Smith
WASHINGTON, Sept 11 (Reuters) - The top U.S. trade envoy said on Friday she wants to be sure U.S. and other foreign firms get a ''fair shake'' at Japan's public works spending that is part of a programme to boost its flagging economy.
U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky said she will raise the issue during three days of talks next week in Japan designed to help lay the groundwork for a meeting later this month between President Bill Clinton and Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi at the United Nations in New York.
She said she plans to stress ''the administration's continuing concern and resolve with respect to market access and deregulation issues.''
U.S. officials have become increasingly frustrated by Japan's slow response to calls from Washington and other capitals for Tokyo to do more to stimulate its domestic economy and rapidly deregulate its markets to allow more foreign access and competition.
The United States and others believe that as the world's second largest economy, it is important Japan pull itself out of recession and help the rest of Asia out of financial crisis.
''The situation is acute and it is important that Japan understand the seriousness and the gravity with which we take the current situation,'' Barshefsky said.
As the Asian crisis has deepened, the U.S. trade deficit with the region and Japan has grown rapidly this year largely due to a sharp drop in exports to the region and tensions over the widening gap are expected to grow. Barshefsky said the deficit will be part of the discussions and that she will repeat U.S. concerns that Japan not try to export its way out of economic trouble.
U.S. steelmakers and workers on Thursday complained about a doubling of steel imports from Japan during the first half of the year along with rapidly rising imports from other economically distressed countries in Asia as well as Russia.
Industry leaders and labour representatives urged U.S. trade officials to take action to limit the imports and Barshefsky said she would raise the issue with her counterparts in Japan next week.
She said the talks will also focus on long-standing concerns about existing trade agreements covering insurance deregulation in Japan, flat glass and automotive trade.
The United States has repeatedly urged Japan to move quickly to deregulate its primary casualty insurance market to allow more foreign access, which she argued would help lower prices and stimulate more demand for insurance policies.
U.S. trade officials are also concerned, she said, about the slow pace of deregulation in Japan's auto repair market.
U.S. and Japanese officials plan to review the 1995 auto trade agreement during a meeting next month in San Francisco.
A major part of the talks next week, though, will focus on trade agreements covering government procurement, which have taken on particular significance since Tokyo plans to spend billions of dollars over the next two years on public works projects and updating computers and other technology.
Barshefsky said the United States has five trade agreements with Japan covering public procurement and that she plans to review those with Japanese officials.
''A fair shake is what we want for U.S. companies, what we want for foreign companies and that is what the bilateral agreements are designed to provide,'' she said.
She said she does not expect Clinton's political problems over the Monica Lewinsky scandal will undermine her talks next week.
''Japan plainly looks to the United States for its views,'' Barshefsky said. ''The views of the United States are and will always be of substantial importance to the global community and the views of the president will continue to be a substantial concern to the Japanese government and the Japanese prime minister.''
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. |
