P.M. BRIEFING : EC Aide Warns Japan on Barriers
A senior European Community official said that Japan’s trade barriers are costing European producers $3 billion a year in lost exports and warned that if the obstacles remain, they could hurt Japan’s auto exports to the EC.
Horst Krenzler, director-general of external relations and trade policy, spoke at a news conference today after two days of high-level talks with Japanese officials on trade, economic problems and science and technology.
“We pleaded strongly that Japan push forward with more market-opening. Only this would create a favorable climate to solve other problems such as auto imports into the EC after the single market in 1992,” Krenzler said.
He said the EC’s chronic trade deficit with Japan was intolerable and that Japan’s response in the talks had been disappointing. No concrete steps had been taken to remove Japanese obstacles to imports, he said.
EC figures show the Japanese trade surplus with the Community in the first nine months of the year was $13.1 billion, compared with a $19.8-billion surplus in all of 1989.
The EC wants Japan to abolish the trade restrictions and cut import tariffs on processed food, fish products and leather.
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