[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 145 (Friday, October 7, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 7, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
FINALIZING THE UNITED STATES-JAPAN AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLE ON FLAT GLASS

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                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 7, 1994

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, at this time when so many initiatives are 
being blocked by divisiveness and partisanship, there is one area where 
the administration has achieved an important success: On October 1, 
1994, the United States concluded a significant trade deal with Japan 
covering a number of major industries.
  Ambassador Kantor and the administration deserve credit for reaching 
agreements that go beyond earlier trade deals with Japan. Japan has 
committed to annual evaluations of progress in increasing foreign 
market share and expanding foreign access. In the telecommunications, 
medical technology, and insurance sectors, we should be seeing 
measurable gains in United States sales in Japan. And I am very pleased 
to report that each of these market-opening agreements are based on 
most favored nation status, thereby benefiting all of Japan's trading 
partners, not only the United States.
  In a fourth market--flat glass--the United States and Japan have 
reached an agreement in principle and agreed to finalize the details by 
the end of October. Meeting this thirty-day timetable constitutes the 
first test of the October 1 trade deal. The good will generated by last 
weekend's agreements should not obscure the fact that much work remains 
to be done on this major part of the trade pact.
  Mr. Speaker, the United States must maintain pressure on the 
Government of Japan if we are to successfully complete the final phase 
of glass negotiations before the 30-day deadline expires. To this 
point, the glass negotiations have followed an all-too-familiar 
pattern. Progress is made only when United States pressure is taken 
seriously by the Japanese. After more than a year of unproductive glass 
negotiations under the Framework talks, Ambassador Kantor and his USTR 
negotiators succeeded in communicating the likelihood of a section 301 
investigation of Japan's glass market. Under this threat, substantial 
progress was made in the 24 hours leading up to the section 301 
deadline, and an agreement in principle was reached.
  The same type of pressure is needed to hammer out the details that 
will determine the ultimate value of a glass agreement. The Government 
of Japan must be firmly reminded that if a final agreement on glass is 
not concluded by the end of the month, the administration will initiate 
a section 301 investigation. Without continued U.S. firmness, I am 
certain that agreement on the pact's details will elude the United 
States, the October 31 deadline will be postponed, and we will face 
further delay and backsliding.
  Ambassador Kantor said that in the first year of a flat glass 
agreement, he expects that three quarters of the 100 largest Japanese 
wholesales and glaziers would obtain 30 to 40 percent of their flat 
glass from non-traditional sources, a mixture of both foreign and 
domestic. This would mark a tremendous victory for U.S. workers and 
U.S. glass manufacturers. Today, a closed distribution system, 
dominated by Japan's three largest manufacturers, limits the U.S. to 
less than 1 percent of Japan's $4.5 billion glass market.
  Mr. Speaker, the month of October will determine whether Japan's 
glass market will be opened to United States manufacturers. I urge the 
administration to keep up the pressure on Japan so that a glass 
agreement can be added to the other trade victories achieved over the 
past weekend.

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