U.S.-JAPAN TRADE : OECD Summit Brings No Solutions in Auto Dispute

After a two-day lobbying blitz among the world’s richest nations, the United States and Japan both claimed moral victory Wednesday in their trade dispute.

The annual ministerial meeting of the 25-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development provided no grounds for optimism that a solution to the row over automobile parts is in sight.

“We don’t want to fight,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown said. “But we are determined that a $60-billion and growing trade deficit with a single country is unacceptable. Japan needs to play by the same rules that other industrialized nations play by.”

After behind-the-scenes wrangling, the closing statement dropped veiled criticism of unilateral actions such as Washington’s proposed sanctions against Japan.

In a carefully worded compromise to keep Japan happy, ministers instead committed themselves to “ensure a strong and effective World Trade Organization with a well-functioning and respected dispute-settlement mechanism.”

President Clinton has promised to slap 100% tariffs on Japanese luxury cars, beginning June 28, unless Tokyo agrees to U.S. demands for more access to Japan’s auto market.

Washington’s threat was not officially on the agenda at the OECD, a forum for industrialized countries.

But it dominated intensive bilateral meetings as U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor and his Japanese counterpart, Ryutaro Hashimoto, lobbied for support, especially among European ministers.

A senior U.S. trade official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the other countries “without exception” indicated that the Japanese market is closed and needs to be opened. But Hashimoto also claimed unanimous support against the United States.

“Everyone I talked to agreed that unilateral sanctions are not the solution,” Hashimoto told a news conference.