Japan Proposes New Dialogue Mechanism for U.S.-Japan Auto and Auto Parts Agenda; Says It is Ready to Continue Discussions at Any Time
19 December 2000
Japan Proposes New Dialogue Mechanism for U.S.-Japan Auto and Auto Parts Agenda; Says It is Ready to Continue Discussions at Any Time
SAN FRANCISCO--Dec. 19, 2000--At the conclusion of two days of discussions with the US government on auto and auto parts issues, Mr. Hajime Furuta, Director-General for Machinery and Information Industries Policy of Japan's Ministry of International Trade & Industry stated the following to the press:" On December 18th and 19th, the Governments of Japan and the United States met at the Director-General level in San Francisco. At this meeting with our counterparts, we discussed the impending expiration of the "Measures by the Government of Japan and the Government of the United States regarding Auto and Auto Parts" (heretofore referred to as the "Measures"), which the two Governments decided to implement in 1995 and which will expire at the end of this year. There still remain differences of views between the two Governments on this issue, but the Government of Japan is ready to continue discussions with U.S. counterparts in order to reach a mutually satisfactory conclusion.
The environment surrounding the auto and auto parts industries has changed dramatically in the past five years as a result of globalization of the industries. Our position is based upon these changes as explained below:
| - | The global reorganization of the auto industry has intensified with the involvement of capital and business alliances in a global manner. In fact, seven out of eleven Japanese auto manufacturers are now affiliated with foreign manufacturers. Through such alliances, foreign manufacturers have steadily expanded their access to the Japanese auto market. |
| - | Moreover, U.S. parts suppliers have increased their sales in the Japanese market through their own capital/business alliances or joint ventures in Japan or through exports from manufacturing facilities located in third countries. |
| - | Furthermore, with the rapid progress of information technology (IT) transforming the automotive industry, an efficiency-oriented parts procurement system is spreading throughout the industry. Today, we are entering an age where an auto parts supplier in any country can have access to a manufacturer in any other country through the open IT platform. |
| - | Meanwhile, with the rapid advance of globalization, it has become common for firms to shift their production operations to geographically dispersed locations around the world. As a result, there are emerging challenges, such as global warming, which have traditionally been addressed by individual governments but now require the joint efforts of relevant governments. |
Amid the sweeping changes mentioned above, there are emerging issues that the Japanese and U.S. auto industries both need to address. We believe it would be useful for the Governments of our two nations to exchange views on the impact on the auto and auto parts industries and the policy implications of these changes. The common challenge we face in areas such as fuel efficiency can also be one of the agenda items.
From this standpoint, we have accordingly proposed an idea of a new bilateral dialogue mechanism for the Government of the United States, in order to further the discussion of the important issues mentioned above, which we believe to be timely and meaningful. Taking into consideration the changes mentioned above, the Government of Japan believes that the "Measures" adopted in 1995, which focuses on bilateral trade and procurement, has outlived its significance.
The Japanese government would like to exert its utmost effort to reach a mutually satisfactory conclusion and is ready to have discussions at any time. "