Joint ventures with Japan give away our future

Abstract

Japanese investment in the United States (US) has given rise to automobile plants producing Nissans, Hondas, and Toyotas and, in the near future, Mazdas and Mitsubishis. Japanese semiconductor and computer manufacturers have helped create a silicon forest in Oregon. At the heart of a growing number of US-Japanese joint ventures is the agreement that the Japanese will undertake the complex production processes. There are many different types of international joint venture, and each type has different implications for production, distribution, and division of profit between the partners. Beginning in 1982, the Houdaille Industries set out to block imports of competing Japanese machine tools. It petitioned Washington for protection, accusing the Japanese of dumping and receiving subsidies from the Japanese government. When that strategy failed, Houdaille tried to persuade the Reagan administration to deny the 10% federal investment tax credit on equipment to US buyers of Japanese machine tools. The administration rejected this proposal as well.