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MEMA president on Progress Under U.S./Japan Automotive Agreement

13 August 1998

Statement from MEMA President Robert R. Miller in Reaction to USTR's Semi- Annual Monitoring Report on Progress Under U.S./Japan Automotive Agreement

    RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Aug. 12 -- The Motor &
Equipment Manufacturers Association supports the U.S. government's call for
greater progress under the U.S./Japan Automotive Agreement.
    While some progress has been realized since the agreement's signing in
1995, concerns about the current state of the Japanese economy raise our
apprehensions about possible lagging repercussions.
    Although U.S. auto parts exports to Japan continued to grow recently, even
during the early phase of Japan's recession, rising 12% in the first quarter
of 1998, and sales of U.S.-made parts to Japanese transplant car and truck
assembly plants rose 10% during the same period, we have begun to see signs of
decline in new purchase orders for original equipment parts and supplies.
    Furthermore, for the replacement parts business in that country, progress
toward an open market is discouraging.  We appreciate the steps which the
Japanese government has taken to allow special, designated garages to perform
certain maintenance and repair tasks rather than restricting that work to the
dealerships and other Ministry of Transport (MOT)-certified garages.  With
proper public information programs to assure the Japanese motoring public of
the value of the services these independent garages perform, more Japanese
motorists may avail themselves of these service alternatives.
    Yet, restriction of mechanic certification and disassembly repair
regulations still impedes the progress we had hoped to see under the
agreement.
    The good faith and willingness to work together for the mutual benefit of
our industry and our economies demonstrated by the Agreement are the keystone
to our progress.  MEMA and its members urge the government of Japan to move
forward with deregulation and certification changes, and to press forward with
solutions to solve the macroeconomic problems.
    Founded in 1904, MEMA exclusively represents and serve more than 700 U.S.
manufacturers of motor vehicle components, tools and equipment, automotive
chemicals, and related products used in the production, repair, and
maintenance of all classes of motor vehicles.  MEMA is headquartered in
Research Triangle Park, N.C., and has offices in Washington, D.C.; Yokohama,
Japan; Brussels, Belgium; Mexico City, Mexico; and Sao Paulo, Brazil.