960419

EU supports Japan

stance on US chip pact

KOBE, (Japan): European Union Trade Commissioner Sir Leon Brittan told Japan's Trade Minister Shunpei Tsukahara on Friday that he strongly supports Japan's stance of not extending its current semiconductor trade pact with the United States, a Japanese trade ministry official told reporters.

Brittan and Tsukahara met for bilateral talks on Friday ahead of four-party trade meetings to be held by representatives from Japan, the United States, the EU and Canada this weekend in Kobe.

The two trade chiefs said they wanted to discuss the issue of global telecommunications liberalisation, and abolition of tariffs on all information technology products, including semiconductors, at the quadrilateral talks, the official said.

"Brittan said he could strongly support Japan's position of opposing an extension of the bilateral chip pact with the United States," the MITI official said.

Brittan was quoted as saying he opposed setting trade targets and any other form of managed trade.

The United States has demanded government involvement in bilateral chip trade with Japan, such as monitoring of semiconductor trade, after the current pact expires on July 31.

"On the telecommunications issue, Minister Tsukahara said he wants to discuss the issue extensively at the quadrilateral talks on Saturday, so that a fruitful result can be achieved," the official said.

Japan's Post and Telecommunications Minister Ichiro Hino and Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda will also attend the Saturday's talks.

Debates between members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on telecommunications liberalisation are continuing in Geneva now, in order to reach an agreement on the issue by an April 30 deadline. Separately, senior officials from the quadrilateral group members are discussing the same topic in Kobe ahead of the meeting of their trade chiefs in hopes, Japanese officials say, of reaching some agreement among them which Japan expects will help the WTO talks to move ahead.

Brittan said he wanted to discuss with the other quad members ways of realising the so-called Information Technology Agreement (ITA).

The ITA is a U.S. proposal for an agreement to abolish tariffs on information technology products.

Washington wants to eliminate duties on all such products between the quad members by 2000, and later include other countries which wish to participate.