U.S., Japan agree to new car, glass talks

U.S., Japan agree to new car, glass talks

JAKARTA (Reuter): The United States and Japan agreed here yesterday to resume talks aimed at opening Tokyo's prized car market and decided to try again to strike a long-awaited glass deal.

U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor secured the commitment to new negotiations after a two-hour meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Ryutaro Hashimoto.

"Our meeting was very positive," said Kantor. "We have agreed to re-engage on the full range of auto and auto parts issues."

Hashimoto, who refused to comment, and Kantor are here for broader Asia-Pacific talks. Their session stretched far longer than scheduled but the surprise break was a welcome start to the Asia-Pacific meetings, which aim to pave the way toward regional free trade.

"It's always helpful to meet. We will move forwardly as rapidly as we can," said Kantor, noting there were "separate potential solutions" to each part of the sprawling car sector.

Cars, car parts and replacement parts make up 60 percent of the lopsided trade flow between the United States and Japan, despite repeated efforts to strike a deal and cut the US$60 billion imbalance.

As all attempts at agreement floundered, Kantor and Hashimoto have engaged this past month in a flurry of letter-writing to try and break a recent hiatus in negotiations.

Now, said Kantor, "we are going to follow up".

He said no time had been set for the car talks but lower level officials would meet on Dec. 5 and 6 to try to iron out remaining differences over Japan's $4.5 billion flat glass market.

But he stressed the U.S. goal in trade talks with Japan was a long-term one.

"You can't expect an appreciable decline in the trade imbalance in the near term," Kantor told Reuters earlier yesterday. "It's a long-term quest. This is not a pursuit for those who are impatient."

He said the United States was poised to shift tack in its long-running trade feud with Tokyo and start attacking the red tape that restricts business in Japan.

Already, Kantor said, the administration had compiled a long list of the rules and regulations that impeded free trade and planed to open negotiations over the matter in the very near future.