ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 19, 1997 TAG: 9704210120
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: MARTIN CRUTSINGER ASSOCIATED PRESS
Agreement to expand the Big Three's presence in Japan was reached in 1995 under threat of punitive U.S. sanctions on Japanese luxury cars.
Japan's recent efforts to expand sales opportunities for American autos and auto parts have been disappointing, the Clinton administration said Friday in issuing its most negative report card yet on results of a landmark 1995 trade deal.
The administration said that Japan had fallen short in meeting goals to expand the number of dealerships stocking American-made cars and in deregulating its repair market to allow sales of more foreign-made replacement parts.
The report, which is issued every six months, said that overall sales by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler had risen 34 percent in 1996, the first full year of the agreement that was reached in 1995 under threat of punitive U.S. sanctions on Japanese luxury cars.
The report also said that sales of American-made parts totaled $2 billion in 1996, an increase of 20 percent from 1995.
But the report noted that despite these large numerical gains, U.S. and other foreign automakers still accounted for a tiny portion of the Japanese market.
The total U.S. share of the Japanese auto market in 1996 was 1.1 percent, a slight improvement from 0.9 percent in 1995.
By comparison, the Japanese-made share of the U.S. market was 7 percent in 1996, compared with 14 percent a decade ago. Much of the decrease reflects the opening of auto plants in the United States by Japanese companies.
However, U.S. automakers have begun to complain about new inroads being made by Japanese imports, reflecting the strength of the dollar, which has made Japanese cars cheaper in the U.S. market. In the first three months of this year, auto imports from Japan were up 16 percent from the same period a year ago.
Citing what she called ``disturbing trends,'' U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky said in releasing Friday's report that the administration planned to closely monitor trade developments with Japan to insure that the auto deficit and the overall trade imbalance between the two nations do not start to widen again.
Administration officials, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, said that concerns about Japan's slowness in deregulation and the widening trade gap would be major topics of discussion when Clinton meets Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto on Friday.
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