U.S. Antitrust Policy to Target Japanese Cartels

Atty. Gen. William P. Barr said Friday that the Bush Administration within “weeks” will make a major redefinition of antitrust policy to enable the Justice Department to go after Japanese industrial cartels that restrict American exports.

“I think the antitrust laws will be a useful tool against cartels that are excluding U.S. exports,” Barr said in an interview on John McLaughlin’s “One on One” television show.

Barr denied that the policy change was motivated by political considerations. The presidential primary campaign has been marked by accusations from Democratic contenders and Republican challenger Patrick J. Buchanan that President Bush is too soft on Japanese trade practices.

“Since I’m making the decision, I know politics aren’t playing a role,” Barr said.

It was not clear what types of Japanese antitrust problems Barr might be aiming at.

Japanese construction firms, for example, have colluded with each other to divide up markets, excluding outsiders in what experts say is a direct violation of Japanese and American antitrust laws.

A more subtle and far-reaching issue involves the tight associations that Japanese manufacturers maintain with distributors, lenders and suppliers in nearly all industries.

These networks have proved equally impossible for outsiders to penetrate, but they are often justified as innocent associations built around long-term personal relationships that add to the efficiency and quality of Japanese manufacturing. Experts have differed over whether the associations violate U.S. antitrust laws.

Extending U.S. laws to cover business practices in Japan requires changing Justice Department guidelines that now limit enforcement actions to cases where American consumers are harmed. Barr said he will change that guideline to protect American exporters trying to compete in Japan as well, saying that is what Congress intended.

The policy has been under review by the Justice Department for months, but it was not known why the change is being made now.