[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 13 (Thursday, February 10, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                           U.S. TRADE FIGURES

  (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, after 14 frustrating years of Japanese 
obstruction in the marketplace and at the negotiating table, the United 
States Government at last seems to be getting tough on trade, and it is 
about time. I strongly support the Clinton administration's insistence 
on measurable, enforceable results instead of more talk. In fact, no 
deal is better than another bad deal.
  The Japanese trade gap with the United States rang in at over $131 
billion, the largest ever. And the merchandise part of that, 
manufacturing, jumped about 10 percent to more than $56 billion. That 
means even more lost jobs in our manufacturing sector.
  If current trends continue, the 1993 auto-parts deficit of $11 
billion will be topped by a $12.2 billion deficit in 1994, according to 
the U.S. Commerce Department's latest forecast. These figures are 
directly related to Japan's pattern, unique among major industrial 
nations, of minimal market access for foreign manufactured goods.
  United States Trade Representative Mickey Kantor yesterday announced 
that trade talks with Japan are at an impasse. Tomorrow Prime Minister 
Hosokawa arrives in Washington for a trade summit with President 
Clinton. The Prime Minister has just had himself formally designated 
Japan's national trade ombudsman for dealing with complaints against 
Japanese trade barriers. If he means for that role to be substantive, 
not just symbolic, he has a chance to prove it by striking a meaningful 
market-access agreement with President Clinton tomorrow. If not, Japan 
will face a President, a Congress, United States industry and labor who 
all agree that time has run out for talk.

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