BY MAURICE WILLIAMS
Washington is finding itself increasingly isolated in its trade dispute with Tokyo. After announcing $6 billion in punitive tariffs against 13 Japanese-made luxury cars, the Clinton administration was condemned by Asian and European governments. The administration also threatened to file a legal challenge to Tokyo's trading practices with the newly formed World Trade Organization (WTO).
At a May 29 meeting of the WTO's Council on Trade in Goods, trade officials told the New York Times that envoys from Australia, India, and Indonesia rebuked Washington's "unilateral actions."
"If they can bully the Japanese and still claim they are going through the WTO, how much easier will it be for them to lean on us," asked an Asian trade diplomat.
European officials issued a warning at a May 24 meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that they would sue Tokyo and Washington if the Japanese government agreed to demands for quotas on increased imports of U.S.-made cars. "We believe such numerically denominated imports amount to managed trade and would violate international trade rules," said Leon Brittan, the European Union's top trade official.
While Clinton administration officials asserted that they had gained support from OECD members, others at the meeting said no other government was willing to back sanctions against Tokyo.
Capitalists in Europe, for their part, are worried about being cut out of any deals that involve numerical targets for increased sales of U.S.-made autos and auto parts.
"The Europeans can scream like pigs stuck on a gate as far I'm concerned," U.S. trade representative Mickey Kantor said.
Union officialdom backs Clinton's trade war
Clinton received strong support for his aggressive stance
from union officials. "Three cheers for the Clinton
administration," beamed United Auto Workers head Owen
Bieber. "The administration showed its willingness to stand
up for the thousands of highly skilled and productive
American workers who will benefit from ending Japanese
discrimination against competitive American-made vehicles
and auto parts."
William Bywater, president of the International Union of Electronic Workers, chimed in, "I support the president's proposed sanctions on Japanese luxury cars."
Clinton administration officials recently acknowledged the cold shoulder Washington is receiving from the 124 members of the WTO. "I think there is a clear apprehension that we are going to court with a losing case," said a senior White House official.
Tokyo showing no sign of buckling
Tokyo has given no sign of buckling to Washington's high
pressure tactics. In fact the Japanese government has
appeared to strengthen its resolve against its chief
imperialist rival.
"In the past Japan has always bent down and yielded at the last moment," said Yoshikazu Kawana, the executive vice president of Nissan Motor Corp. and trade committee chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. "Not this time," he added.
Toyota officials announced May 23 they are considering filing suit against the U.S. government in an effort to eliminate or reduce the impending sanctions on luxury vehicles.
Japan's minister of international trade and industry asserted that Tokyo is prepared to take retaliatory measures against U.S.-made products such as trucks and semiconductors.
The trade dispute highlights the escalating tensions between Washington and its imperialist rivals. The U.S. trade deficit with Japan rose 30 percent, to $6.14 billion in March. Auto trade accounts for about two-thirds of the total deficit with Tokyo.
Nissan and Mazda, two of Japan's leading auto manufacturers, reported May 26 huge losses for their last fiscal years. The Mazda Motor Corp. reported a net loss of more than $400 million when its fiscal year ended March 31. Nissan reported a net loss of $1.86 billion - almost double the loss recorded the previous year. Toyota projected a substantial drop in earnings for the current year.
Honda and Mazda said May 23 they were temporarily suspending exports of their luxury cars to the U.S. in order to avoid the impact of the 100 percent tariffs.
Tokyo's hardened posturing toward the U.S. government also reflects the deepening economic crisis developing inside Japan. Japan's jobless rate rose to its highest level ever in April, a warning sign that the economy may be sliding back into a recession. Among graduating students entering the workforce in April, some 160,000 could not find jobs. According to Japan's Management and Coordination Agency, the number of jobless people in April totaled 2.14 million - up more than 10 percent from a year earlier.