INTERNATIONAL TRADE : Conference Will Focus on U.S.-Japanese Electronics Trade
The American Electronics Assn. will hold a two-day conference April 6 and 7 in Irvine to discuss ways of increasing U.S.-made electronics parts purchases by Japanese companies in the United States.
The meeting--organized by the AEA and the Tokyo-based Electronics Industries Assn. of Japan--marks the first time that major United States and Japanese electronics industry groups have met to discuss establishing closer business ties, said Pat Hill Hubbard, spokeswoman for the Santa Clara-based trade group.
“This is a way to just quit talking about what’s needed to improve the U.S. trade deficit with Japan and take some real action,” she said.
About 65 top executives and buyers from 12 of Japan’s largest electronics companies will meet with their U.S. counterparts at the Radisson Plaza Hotel. At least 100 executives from U.S. electronics companies are expected to attend.
The Japanese companies are hoping to attract U.S. component and instrument manufacturers in hopes of increasing the share of U.S.-made parts in their production lines.
Currently, Japanese companies with U.S. subsidiaries purchase $10 billion in electronics components annually. About 23% of that total comes from the United States, with the rest purchased from Japanese and Asian sources, Hubbard said.
However, electronics components are just a small fraction of the U.S. trade deficit. Autos and auto parts make up 75% of the United States’ $41-billion trade deficit with Japan.
“We’re not expecting companies to walk out the door with contracts in hand after the conference,” she said. “That could happen, though, but what will happen is for the two sides to set up grounds for a long-term customer-supplier relationship.”
The meeting will be attended by Japanese purchasing managers, division presidents and engineering directors from Japan and the United States. Participants include Mitsubishi Electric Corp., NEC Corp., Sony Corp., Toshiba Corp., Hitachi Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Fujitsu Ltd.
Masaaki Morita, chairman of Sony Corp. of America and younger brother of Sony’s founder, Akio Morita; and Robert Galvin, Motorola Inc.’s chairman, are keynote speakers.
