TECHNOLOGY - Sept. 23, 1993

Foreign Share of Japanese Semiconductor Market Slips: Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry, citing figures from the U.S. trade representative’s office, said the share of foreign chips in the Japanese market fell by 0.4 percentage point to 19.2% in the April-June quarter. It was the second consecutive quarterly decline. U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor said the United States is “extremely concerned” about the decline. Under a 1991 semiconductor trade pact, Japan and the United States agreed to a 20% goal for foreign market share by the end of 1992. The U.S. semiconductor industry says the agreement was a commitment by Japan, while Japan says it was only a target. In the final quarter of last year, the foreign market share totaled 20.2%.