N.Z. not satisfied with Japan trade

Press, 23 October 1980, Page 4

N.Z. not satisfied with Japan trade

NZPA Staff correspondent • Tokyo ’ New Zealand dissatisfaction at the course of its trading relationship with Japan 'was emphasised in Tokyo yesterday at the opening of the seventh New ZealandJapan Businessmen’s Council meeting. ’ With varying degrees of emphasis the Prime Minister] (Mr Muldoon), the Minister! if Overseas Trade (Mr Tai-1 boys), and the New Zealand] Ambassador to Japan (Mr R. M. Miller) took issue with: restrictive Japanese trade | policies. In a message read to the : meeting by the Minister ofi Tourism (Mr Cooper), Mr Muldoon said that a close look at recent bilateral trade statistics did not give New Zealand much cause for satisfaction. - “For the first time in recent years, the rate of growth pf New Zealand’s total exports has exceeded the growth of our trade with Japan,” said Mr Muldoon. ■ “Almost without exception. the value of our livestock products, the mainstay of the New Zealand economy, exported to Japan has declined over the three years to June 30. “Trade in another major export item, logs, is tem-

porarily suspended after a breakdown in price negotiations consequent on the current glut on the Japanese market. "We are facing a range of measures which seem likely to affect seriously our trade in cheese, prepared edible tats, and squid; and we seem no closer to a resolution of ] the problems which inhibit j trade in Pinus radiata for I construction purposes, in ] cherries, in other fruit, and in leather. “The situation is of great [ concern to the New Zealand i Government.” : Mr Taiboys said that total i New Zealand-Japanese trade in the last June year had topped 51.2 million and represented 13 per cent of New Zealand’s over-all trade. “While the rapid development of our trade has been most gratifying, we are perturbed by the various barriers to trade in primary products with Japan which affects' our ability to further expand.” he said. Mr Miller said that the rapid expansion of the bilateral trade did not obscure the fac that there were unresolved elements of real difficulty. created in New Zealand’s view by protectionist measures and pressures. “An enlargement of market openings in these areas will continue, to be a major New Zealand policy aim as we work in the decade of the eighties to Strengthen our<

links with Japan bilaterally,” he said. That the Japanese do not see the trading frictions in as series a light as the New Zealand Government was pointed out by a message delivered on behalf of the Japanese Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries (Mr Takao Tameoka). "There Was a period when we had problems but in June of 1978 Mr Muldoon and Mr Nakagawa (then the Japanese Minister of Agriculture) provided in a meeting the trigger for improvement,” he said. “Our relations on agriculture and fisheries have been better since then.” Mr Tameoka said that the Japanese were examining proposals for a revision of standards for imported sawn timber and such a revision could be extremely useful to the promotion of New Zealand timber. New Zealand concerns that the development of a Japanese natural-cheese processing factory in Hokkaido could harm sales of imported cheese were indirectly rejected. “We believe natural cheese consumption will increase and New Zealand’s sales should not decline.” said Mr Tameoka. ; The meeting, involving 57 New Zealand businessmen and Japanese company rep-resentatives,-is scheduled to continue today and tomorrow.