Poll Shows a Hardening on Trade : Public and Leaders Say the U.S. Should Get Tougher With Japan
Nearly 60% of Americans would support federal legislation severely limiting the importation of Japanese products and a majority opposes some forms of Japanese investment in the United States, according to a survey of U.S. attitudes toward Japan and Japanese companies.
In a significant divergence from earlier surveys, this one indicated a hardening of attitudes toward the Japanese among American leaders in business, government and the media. The survey, released Thursday, was conducted by the Westport, Conn.-based Yankelovich Clancy Shulman polling firm on behalf of Saatchi & Saatchi, a New York-based advertising giant with many Japanese corporate clients.
Traditionally, American leaders have been less concerned than the general public about the state of U.S.-Japan trade relations, said Steve Clemons, executive director of the Japan America Society of Southern California. In all, 73% of the respondents said U.S. products are “deliberately being excluded from the Japanese marketplace by powerful vested interests in Japan.” But 88% of “leaders” said U.S. firms are being denied access to Japanese markets.
“Just 18 months ago there was a big difference between the opinions of the so-called informed and the uninformed,” Clemons said. “This is a sign that American opinion on trade matters is converging in many areas.”
The survey will supply ammunition to those fighting for legislation that would retaliate against Japan if that country does not allow American companies more access to Japanese markets, said Jeff Faux, president of the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.
“The results will reinforce those efforts, and trade will become a more important economic issue in the upcoming presidential election,” Faux said. “I think (President) Bush is very vulnerable on the issue of being soft on trade.”
The survey results were released just two days after House Majority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) announced plans for a campaign to encourage more U.S. retaliation against Japanese trading practices he described as “adversarial capitalism.”
Gephardt said he will introduce a bill that would take away much of the White House’s discretion in deciding when and how to retaliate. He said his proposal would make retaliatory action mandatory in cases of unfair trade practices involving countries with large trade surpluses.
Over the years, the U.S. government has accused Japan of building up huge trade surpluses by engaging in a range of unfair trade practices, including an informal system of collusion among Japanese firms to keep U.S. firms out of their markets.
Unlike many other attitude surveys about the Japanese, respondents commented specifically on trade policy. Results indicate a great deal of concern about Japanese trade practices.
Of the 800 respondents, about 200 were in “leadership” positions--defined as having leading roles in the U.S. government, media or business and financial communities. The other 600 were in the “general public” category.
The two respondent pools had divergent views in some areas.
Among the general public, 59% said they “would favor legislation which severely limits the importation of Japanese products.” But only 21% of leaders favored such restrictions.
While a majority of respondents indicated support for legislation that would ban Japanese acquisition of U.S. farmland, real estate landmarks, large U.S. corporations and major American newspapers--backing for such prohibitions was in the 60% range--support for such legislation was only half as strong among “leaders.”
A majority of respondents in the general public and in the leadership pools indicated they had high regard for Japanese products, said Earl Gandel, a Torrance-based executive vice president of Saatchi & Saatchi.
“The major finding is ambivalence,” said Gandel, part of a Saatchi & Saatchi team that planned the poll. “There is strong loyalty to Japanese products but a high degree of resentment toward Japan and Japanese business.”
How We View the Japanese
The majority of Americans have a negative view of the Japanese on trade-related matters, according to a new survey conducted by Yankelovich Clancy Shulman. The survey results are based on responses from about 800 Americans. Of the respondents, about 200 were in “leadership” positions--defined as leading roles in the U.S. government, media or in the business and financial communities. Findings from the survey include:
* Six in 10 Americans favor federal legislation that would severely limit the importation of Japanese products in the United States.
* Seventy-two percent of the respondents believe that Japanese industry and government are committed to dominating the world economy.
* Eighty-eight percent of the “leaders” in the survey believe that American products are deliberately excluded from the Japanese marketplace by powerful vested interests in Japan.
* Ninty-one percent of the respondents consider the trade deficit with Japan to be a serious threat to the long-term health of the U.S. economy. Half believe it to be a “very serious threat.”
* Americans share a stereotypical view of the Japanese that acknowledges their dedication to hard work but also questions their ethics.
* Only 13% of Americans say they now boycott Japanese products, but 64% maintain that they only buy a Japanese product if it is clearly the best buy available.
Attitudes About Japan
The Yankelovich Clancy Shulman study of U.S. attitudes about Japan and Japanese companies was based on responses of about 800 Americans during polling in 1990 and 1991. Of the 800 respondents, about 200 were in “leadership” positions--defined as leading roles in the U.S. government, the American media or in the U.S. business and financial communities.
Level of concern about the presence of Japanese products and investments in the United States:
Age Education College 56 and H.S. grad grad Total 21-35 35-65 older or less or more Very concerned 41% 33% 39% 53% 47% 35% Somewhat concerned 40% 44% 44% 30% 41% 39% Not very concerned 12% 12% 11% 12% 8% 15% Not concerned 7% 11% 6% 5% 4% 11%
Source: Yankelovich Clancy Shulman
