1. Week 5 Seminar
Dr. Aimee Richmond
a.richmond@sheffield.ac.uk
Japan’s economic relations with
the United States
2. Aim for today…
Try to use key terms as much as possible in your
discussion!
• Structure, agency, norms
• Bipolarity, multipolarity
• Bilateralism, asianism, trilateralism,
internationalism, anti-militarism,
developmentalism, economism
3. Today’s seminar:
• Working together to identify the structure, agency and
norms at work in the US-J economic relationship
• What are the key case studies for trade conflicts and
what do they illustrate?
• What is the TPP and what does it mean for Japan?
(Original seminar questions are available on Mole, please do attempt these in
your own time if you want to)
4. Structure, agency and norms
Structure
• The structure of the trade relationship has been at the heart of the
politicization of economics.
• Trade conflicts illustrate how the structural relationship leaves Japan
vulnerable to US pressure.
• Over time however, trade disputes have moved into the multilateral
setting rather than the bilateral setting
Agency
• Agency alerts us to the way businesses will put pressure on the
government to politicize trade issues, not leaving the market to solve the
problem.
Norms
• We can see the rise of internationalism and multilateralism, which is
complementing bilateralism in determining the nature of the US-Japan
relationship.
5. US-Japan economic relationship has involved:
• Trade
• Investment
• Transfer of production facilities to the US,
particularly from the 1980s onwards.
While US-Japan have continually (and still do)
harbour a strong economic relationship, there have
at times been political tensions as a result of trade
conflicts.
The US-Japan Economic Relationship
6. How can structure, agency and norms be used to explain how
trade conflicts developed in the bilateral economic relationship
with the US?
• Negotiate bilaterally with the US
– Obstacles:
1. VERs (Voluntary Export Restraints)
• If there is a local demand to restrict the number of items—for example cars—
that can enter the US market
2. Tariffs/Anti-dumping measures
• Increases the cost of the good by adding a (10%, 20% etc.) premium to export
into the given country.
– This goes against the free-trade values at the heart of the US model of capitalism.
• Negotiate multilaterally in international fora
– Joining forces with others who are concerned about constraints on the free-trade
regime by appealing to international norms such as multilateralism to try to
supplement and offset US pressure.
• This is advantageous because you can appeal to international norms such as free-trade to
engineer a policy that suits your own interests.
7. Changes to bilateral trade conflicts
• Trade conflict with US during Bush administration has been less antagonistic that
during the 1980s and 1990s.
– E.g., Steel & Beef vs. Semi-conductors and automobiles
• Reflects a change in the alliance following the Gulf War and greater cooperation by
Japan with the US
– E.g., Koizumi’s response to 9/11
• Change in the relative strength of the two economies & the establishment of
mechanisms for dialogue between the two sides
– Relative rise of the US and stagnation of Japan along with a rising China led to a relative decline in
the sense of Japan as a challenger.
• 2001 summit to promote US-Japan Economic Partnership for Growth.
• Major trade conflict seems unlikely for the time being especially under the LDP.
– But ongoing global financial stagnation and indecision on both sides of the Pacific on
important economic agreements (e.g., the TPP) means that the stability of trade
relations is not a guarantee.
What does the TPP mean for Japan?
