Japan to Curb Car Exports to U.S. 7th Year
Japan said today that it will restrict auto exports to the United States for a seventh year in 1987, acknowledging that the voluntary quotas are part of an effort to trim the country’s record trade surplus.
Minister of International Trade and Industry Hajime Tamura said Japanese auto makers will maintain the present ceiling on exports and hold passenger car shipments to the U.S. market to 2.3 million units in fiscal 1987, which begins April 1.
The move came a day before the U.S. government was to announce December trade figures expected to show a record $55- to $60-billion U.S. trade deficit with Japan in 1986. The figures are likely to further fuel pressure in Congress for trade legislation.
Half of Trade Deficit
Japanese auto exports account for nearly half the U.S. trade deficit with Japan.
The voluntary quotas were first imposed in 1981 to give U.S. auto makers “breathing space” to recover from the recession brought on by the 1979 oil shock that forced the layoff of hundreds of thousands of American auto workers.
But despite the recovery of the U.S. industry, protectionist pressure in Washington for retaliation over the trade deficit has made the auto issue a symbol of Japan’s willingness to ease the imbalance.
“The car issue no longer is an economic issue but a political one, which must be tackled as part of the Japan-U.S. trade problem,” said a spokesman for the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Assn.
20% of U.S. Market
Japanese-made autos captured about 20% of the U.S. car market in 1986, according to JAMA. Car sales totaled 11.45 million units, with imports totaling 3.24 million units. Of those, 2.37 million were Japanese cars.
The quotas began at 1.65 million units for 1981-83, rose to 1.84 million in 1984 and to 2.3 million for the past two years. The government parcels out individual limits to Japan’s auto manufacturers.
The spokesman also said the high yen, which has forced auto makers to raise prices in the United States by at least $1,000 per car, had actually eased opposition to the quotas among the major auto makers by giving them predetermined maximum sales.
