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U.S.-Japanese Trade: The Semiconductor Arrangement
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On June 4, 1991, the United States and Japan agreed to a five-year arrangement to open Japan,s market to U.S.-origin semiconductor devices, replacing a 1986 agreement that was due to expire. Unlike other U.S.-Japanese trade agreement, the U.S.-Japanese Semiconductor Arrangement stipulates a quantifiable objective (20 percent of the Japanese market for foreign-produced semiconductors). It is often identified by those who want the United States to undertake a "results-oriented" trade policy toward Japan as a model for future US.-Japanese trade agreements. The semiconductor arrangement raises several questions for U.S.- Japanese trade and U.S. trade policy: Has its achieved its objectives? Should the agreement be used as a model for resolving other U.S.- Japanese market access disputes?