[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]

 
    JAPANESE IN WASHINGTON IN ATTEMPT TO REVIVE CERTAIN TRADE TALKS

  (Mr. REGULA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Tsutomu Hata, the Japanese foreign 
minister, arrived in Washington yesterday in a last-minute attempt to 
revive trade talks on the framework agreement. These negotiations are 
aimed at addressing the current Japanese account surpluses and the low 
penetration of their market by imports.
  I join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in supporting the 
administration's position of numerical goals in import penetration 
based on sales, coupled with effective enforcement mechanisms.
  As repeatedly said by our negotiators, no agreement is better than a 
bad agreement. To do otherwise compromises the American worker and 
consumers around the world.
  A 1991 joint survey by the United States and Japanese Governments of 
auto parts pricing turned up telling evidence on this point. For a 
Toyota Corolla, replacement parts were priced 107 percent higher in 
Japan than in the United States. For a Nissan Sentra, replacement parts 
were 119 percent higher than in the United States. Japanese consumers 
paid higher prices because of no competition, thereby subsidizing their 
auto parts makers' penetration of the United States market, and the 
eventual higher prices to our consumers.
  Refusing to move forward, after so many years of talking, can only be 
seen for what it is--a lack of good faith and therefore a basis for 
congressional action.

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