The Origin And Impact Of The Japan-U.S. Semiconductor Trade Friction

The Japan-U.S.semiconductor trade friction in the 1980 s was a landmark event in the post-World War II period when Japan-U.S.economic and trade friction spread to the hightech field.Japan’s semiconductor industry in large-scale study and the introduction of advanced technology and patents in the United States on the basis of the Japanese government’s industrial policy to support the rapid growth of the 1970 s with high-quality,low-cost products quickly occupied the international market,a serious threat to occupy a position of absolute dominance of the United States.In response,in 1985 the U.S.Department of Commerce launched a series of anti-dumping investigations on Japanese semiconductor chip products,and this became the starting point for the U.S.government to formally intervene in semiconductor trade issues.The Reagan administration placed particular emphasis on safeguarding U.S.interests and advantages in the economic field,and in the face of the widening Japan-U.S.trade deficit and growing protectionist sentiment,the U.S.government began to promote Japan-U.S.semiconductor trade negotiations through diplomatic channels,negotiating on three aspects: market access issues,price issues and prevention of indirect exports through third countries.After several rounds of negotiations,the two sides decided to sign a non-public side-letter in addition to the formal agreement,in which the Japanese government recognizes and welcomes the expectations of U.S.semiconductor companies to reach a 20 percent market share in Japan within five years.Since the negotiations,rumors of numerical targets for U.S.companies’ market share in Japan have been widely publicized,and a new book by Clyde Prestowitz on the Japan-U.S.semiconductor issue in March 1988 and a self-reported article by Japanese semiconductor executive Mikio Fujiwara published immediately afterwards revealed the existence of a secret agreement between the U.S.and Japan on market share,bringing the issue back to the headlines.In recent years,the declassification of the official files of the U.S.and Japanese governments on semiconductor issues has made it possible to understand the negotiation process of the U.S.and Japanese governments on the issue of numerical market share targets.In this paper,based on the research results of domestic and foreign scholars,we will fully interpret the declassified public records of the Japanese and U.S.governments,sort out the historical process of Japan-U.S.negotiations on semiconductor issues,and try to analyze the thinking of Japan and the U.S.in dealing with semiconductor trade issues and its impact.