Wallerstein on Seattle

[christian a. gregory]

> >
> >Why have the media not noticed this? The media have concentrated on
> >geopolitics to the detriment of observing the economic struggles.
> >They have noticed that the EU and Japan have constantly given in to
> >U.S. political pressure on questions such as the Gulf War, NATO
> >expansion, and Kosovo. But they haven't noticed that, over the past
> >thirty years, the EU and Japan have not given in on a single major
> >economic issue (such as the Russian oil pipeline to western Europe,
> >or the innumerable ways in which Japan limits access of U.S.
> >corporations and banks to Japanese internal markets). And they
> >weren't about to give in at Seattle about government subsidies to
> >European farmers. The U.S. ran into a stone wall.
>

A bit overstated, as Doug puts it, seems a bit understated to me. Sure,
Japan may have "won" some rounds about limits on car imports and whatnot in
the early 90's, but it has lost on lots of international settlements like
the Basle accords. (Perhaps this doesn't look enough like an economic
"confrontations" to Wallerstein, which is why he ignores it.) In the initial
negotiations, the Japanese were able to link bank capital levels to the
stock market; in the year of the accord, 1987, that gave them beaucoup
capital to count against assets. After 1990, when the market began to fall,
they were not so happy, as the falling market began to choke off capital and
the ability of banks to lend. (And, btw, the market began to fall during the
Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.)

And what about the Asian Monetary Fund proposal floated by Japan after the
Asian crisis? The U.S. shot that down rather eagerly. I think that counts as
non-negligible, certainly a political and economic loss for Japan.

All best,
Christian