Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 13, 1994 TAG: 9412130066
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOURNAL OF COMMERCE
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The agreement will require extensive data from Japan on how U.S. companies are faring in Japan and will extend open bidding rules for glass purchased for construction by the Japanese government.
Steve Farrar, director of international business for Guardian Industries of Northville, Mich., said the agreement would provide the incentive for his company and other U.S. glassmakers to invest more resources in Japan. Guardian has tried to crack the market for years, maintaining a staff of 10 in Tokyo in an attempt to gain a toehold in an industry in which it competes successfully in most other major markets.
Although the potential gain for U.S. glass companies from this pact is dwarfed by the stakes in other disputes with Japan, such as automotive trade, U.S. officials argue that the deal will set some important precedents.
Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky said that for the first time, the Japanese government will recognize in a trade agreement how lax enforcement of antitrust laws in Japan has the effect of excluding foreign companies.
Coupled with a recent proposal from the United States on broad changes to Japan's antitrust enforcement, Barshefsky said the United States hopes to force wholesale reforms in ``keiretsu,'' the Japanese system of monopolies maintained through close business ties.
Another gain, she said, is that the agreement confronts the question of which companies stand to benefit from trade agreements, known in negotiator's parlance as ``capital affiliation.''
by CNB