
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, February 8, 1994                   TAG: 9402080113
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

JAPANESE BARRIERS CAN ADD 40 PERCENT TO IMPORT COSTS

An auto industry study jointly commissioned by the U.S. and Japanese governments says barriers to the Japanese market add as much as 40 percent to the price of imports sold there.

The Japanese distribution system, especially the close ties between manufacturers and dealerships in Japan, was the focus of the report, expected to be released by the Commerce Department today or Wednesday. It also cited the high price of land in Japan and recruiting difficulty.

The two-year study, meant as an objective third-party analysis of foreign-vehicle sales in Japan, was conducted by Booz-Allen & Hamilton Inc. of Bethesda, Md., and the Nomura Research Institute of Tokyo.

Andrew Card, president of the American Automobile Manufacturers Association, said the study confirms that the Japanese market "is, in fact, closed."

"There is no free trade in Japan," he said Monday.

The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said it would respond formally after the report is released by the U.S. government.

"From what we have seen, there is nothing in the distribution study which would support the position that there are restrictions of any kind in selling vehicles in the Japanese market," said William Duncan, Washington director of the group.

The report said Japanese manufacturers own about 25 percent of the auto dealerships there, compared with 1 percent of U.S. dealerships owned 100 percent by Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Corp. or General Motors Corp.

And just 40 percent of dealerships in Japan handle imports, compared with 94 percent in the United States, it said.

by CNB