29 April 1999: Two US glassmakers have asked the Office of the US Trade Representative to strictly watch Japan“s flat glass market.
According to recent reports, Guardian International Corp. and PPG …
29 April 1999: Two US glassmakers have asked the Office of the US Trade Representative to strictly watch Japan“s flat glass market. According to recent reports, Guardian International Corp. and PPG Industries Inc. recommended in their letters that the USTR place Japanese glass market practices on its priority watch list rather than identifying them as priority foreign country practices. The USTR is expected to identify “priority foreign country practices” subject to negotiations under the threat of trade sanctions if seriously unfair practices are found under the executive order. Practices put on the watch list will be closely monitored and could be later identified as priority for negotiations. Guardian recommends the Japanese practices be cited on the watch list as ones that “may warrant identification in the future if existing efforts to eliminate the practices are not successful,” it said. The US company said three Japanese flat glass manufacturers including Asahi Glass Co. control the distribution system in Japan through networks of exclusive distributors. In addition to the two glassmakers, the Health Industry Manufacturers Association has presented a letter to the USTR, seeking to place Japan“s medical equipment market on the watch list. Meanwhile, The Fair Trade Commission may disclose the results of its survey on trade practices in the Japanese flat glass market only after a Japan-US summit meeting scheduled for 3 May. Since the United States has claimed that US companies are shut out of Japan“s flat glass market, the FTC“s survey has drawn attention from both Japanese and US governments. The commission may seek to avoid announcing the survey results before Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and US President Bill Clinton discuss trade issues including flat glass in their meeting in Washington, government sources said Friday. The FTC initially planned to disclose the results of the survey by this spring, which follows up on a 1993 survey. (For further information, see various GlassOnline reports from February, March and April “99).