"Charles Jannuzi" <jannuzi at edu00.f-edu.fukui-u.ac.jp> writes:
> This chronology does not explain why Japan does not produce OSes or
> processors for pcs. Basically, it worked like this. Back in the mid 80s,
the
> Japanese had to agree to a fixed share of the US market in commodity
chips.
Chris Beggy replies:
>You are describing a bi-lateral trade >relationship, not
>globalization.
No, I'm describing unilateral trade and monetary decisions made by the US and forced onto Japan--while protectionist Europe looked on and uselesslt moaned about chip cartels. I'm also describing, in part, how the Wintel duopoly came about.
> I don't dispute that US based firms use >whatever means they can to
subvert free >trade, I just think the style for
>the past 11 years has been to use >multilateral (WTO, IMF) and
>broadly geographic (NAFTA, EU) legal >structures. The US-Japan
>relationship doesn't tell us much about that.
You seem to be sadly underestimating just how much of this has been dominated by the trade agendas of Bush 1.0 and Clinton 1 and 2 (not sure about Bush 1.1 yet). See th piece from LeMonde.
Although this is going out on a limb, I see more potential to stop US dominance--yes, even hegemony--in the WTO than I do in WB and IMF. True, activists in the west must first learn how to deal with and include the elites from the developing countries before the WTO can be significantly broadened and democratized. But then one has to hope that things don't get so desperate in many developing countries that it's even pointless dealing with their elites. It doesn't look good.
> In exchange for participation in the >Eurodollar and Euroyen bond
>market (multilateral creations) the BIS >required Japanese banks
>to increase their reserves to come up to >world standards.
Whenever I see phrases like 'world standards', the bullshit detector goes off. At best, it's neoimperialist cant like in FT or Economist. The US consultants have been over here in Japan talking up US accounting standards as the 'world standards'. Enron has everyone wondering what the heck they could have been talking about.
>As
>they did this, they deleveraged the financial >system, and it
>hasn't been the same since.
Yeah, so now it makes sense for US representatives to make monthly trips to Japan and to tell the prime minister he has to reinvent the entire banking system, even if he has to shit it out! Not even God could do that. Again, why do westerners always ask of Japanese prime ministers things they would ever even broach in public in their own countries?
> The telltale of globalization was when US >firms went from Japan
>bashing to Japan passing. Narita airport >ceased to be a
>destination and became a place for business >travellers to catch
>connecting flights to Guangdong, Hong Kong, >Seoul, Penang,
>Singapore, and Taipei.
Yes, but they'll be back when they need to learn how to make things like G3 phones or a hybrid car (or, as I suggested, a pc that doesn't cost too much but works). And don't kid yourself, when China gets too big and uppity, the US will send out its minions to try and make the 'pips squeak'. Til then, everyone is making orange juice.
Charles J