Japan, U.S. to Meet on Trade Disputes

Japan and the United States will launch a last-ditch effort here this week to resolve two long-simmering trade disputes over insurance and computer chips before a Wednesday deadline.

Japanese Trade Minister Shunpei Tsukahara and U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky plan to meet Tuesday to make a final push for a deal after several days of talks between trade negotiators.

Pressure is mounting ahead of a Wednesday deadline for a settlement set last month by Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and President Clinton at a meeting in France.

With the prestige of their leaders at stake, negotiators are promising an all-out effort ahead of the deadline.

“We will make our utmost effort to reach an agreement by then,” promised Eisuke Sakakibara, head of the Japanese Finance Minstry’s international bureau and Japan’s senior negotiator in the insurance dispute.

For its part, the United States “is determined. It is important to make every possible effort in both of these areas,” said Jay Ziegler, a spokesman for the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office.

Hashimoto and Clinton exchanged letters last week on the two trade issues. Japanese media said Hashimoto had urged Clinton to make a political decision to settle the two spats along with a separate row over civil aviation.

Ziegler said Clinton responded to Hashimoto in a letter outlining U.S. efforts to reach agreement on insurance and semiconductors. Ziegler said Clinton wrote that reaching agreement was in the interest of both countries. Clinton also outlined U.S. concerns on the two issues that need to be met, Ziegler said.

The two powers have a long history of brinksmanship in trade feuds ranging from cars to aviation and recent talks on computer chips and insurance have made scant progress, officials said.

Some officials believe there is a greater chance for a deal this week on semiconductors than insurance. A five-year deal covering microchip trade expires Wednesday. The main sticking point is how big a role governments should play in monitoring the openness of Japan’s $44-billion computer chip market.

On Friday, Japan rejected a U.S. response to its proposals to resolve the row, saying there had been no movement in the U.S. stance. Political analysts say resolution of the chip feud could bear on Clinton’s election chances in California, a key state home to the large Silicon Valley computer industry.

Yoshihiro Sakamoto, Japan’s vice minister for international trade and industry, was due to meet Ira Shapiro, the senior U.S. negotiator, in Vancouver over the weekend and today in a bid for a breakthrough on microchips.

The United States, which along with other countries has gained a 30% share of Japan’s microchip market, wants a deal that would continue to enforce market access. “Our objective is on the 31st [of July] to emerge with a transitional agreement that continues the pattern of monitoring and market access,” Ziegler said.

Japan, saying no government involvement is needed, is pushing for a global forum to be established in which industry groups from the two countries and Europe would set semiconductor trade policy. The European Union, afraid of being cut out of any deal, is sending its top negotiator to Canada to monitor the talks.

On insurance, Japan and the United States remain at odds despite talks in recent days in Vancouver.