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US blasts Japan for 'protectionist' trade stance
US blasts Japan for 'protectionist' trade stance
Friday November 30, 2007
The United States lambasted key ally Japan Thursday for what it called lack of leadership in talks to forge a global trade accord, accusing the Asian economic powerhouse of behaving like a "protectionist" developing nation.
"We have been somewhat disappointed by the fact that Japan has not, in our view, done enough to show leadership for open markets in some key international institutions, in particular in the Doha negotiations of the World Trade Organization," a senior US trade official said.
"On Doha, I think we would like to see Japan act more like the developed country powerhouse that it is and less like a protectionist mid-level developing country," said the official, on condition of anonymity.
He was speaking ahead of a meeting of senior economic officials from both countries on a range of issues in Tokyo next week.
The WTO's Doha round of talks to forge new global trade rules has been bogged down for the past six years in disputes largely between developed and developing countries over agricultural subsidies and industrial tariffs.
Japan has come under criticism during the WTO talks for its zealous protection of its farmers, particularly those growing rice, which Tokyo argues is a national institution.
"I have to say that we have been disappointed in the role that Japan has played in Doha and we plan to say so next week," the official told reporters during a media conference call.
The official accused Japan of adopting an "excessively defensive" negotiating stance in the talks.
"In those areas where we do share some common offensive interests with Japan, such as in the non-agricultural market access negotiations, Japan has played only a very limited role.
"That is disappointing, and we will say that," the official said.
Agriculture has been a key stumbling block in the WTO's Doha round of negotiations, which were launched in the Qatari capital in 2001.
Washington's concerns about Japan were not just over its actions at the WTO but also at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, where a US-led move to establish a vast free trade area involving 21 Pacific basin economies was met with a cold response from Japan, China and several other Asian nations.
Tokyo prefers to first have a free-trade zone covering 16 nations -- 10 Southeast Asian nations, China, Japan, Australia, India, New Zealand and South Korea, all of whose leaders meet annually at the East Asian Summit.
Washington has been unhappy over US exclusion from the group.
"I think that we would like Japan to step up and play the role of the ally and friend that it is," the US official said.
He said Washington would like to work with Japan on an Asian economic grouping that included the United States "because the United States is an Asian economic power just as Japan is, just as other countries are.
"I think our view is that any sort of Asian economic architecture that does not include the United States, which is by far the largest customer of the exports of most large Asian countries, would be an incomplete architecture," the official said.
Washington will raise market access issues with Japan, including over US beef and pharmaceuticals, as well as common concerns over China, at the US-Japan economic sub-cabinet meeting on December 6-7.
Japan's "restrictions" on US drugs, particularly, are "a major concern not only for our industry but consumers and health services in Japan," the official said.
Fijilive
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