Record trade surplus for Japan

Press, 3 August 1985, Page 6

Record trade surplus for Japan

NZPA-Reuter Tokyo Japan announced a huge record trade surplus for June, just one day after unveiling measures to curb its runaway trade imbalance with the rest of the world. Japan's exporters sold 1U514.28 billion ($28.13 billion) of products overseas in June while imports totalled only SUSB.S6 billion ($12.06 billion), giving a surplus of $U55.72 billion ($11.26 billion), said the Finance Ministry. The previous record monthly surplus was $U55.29 billion ($10.42 billion) last December. The package promised changes over the next three years to make Japan one of the most open markets in the world. The Government said it would end or reduce import tariffs, simplify standards testing of imports and buy more from abroad. It hopes this will stave off growing threats from large markets like the United States and Europe to restrict Japanese , imports ranging from microchips to excavators to protect jobs. Finance Ministry officials said June’s huge surplus was not due to an extra outpouring of exports but rather to a drop in Japan’s oil import bill.

In many areas exports fell, but car shipments to the United States were up following Japan’s decision to allow manufacturers to send more to the United States market from April within a voluntary restraint programme. Exports to China also rose sharply, a trend which triggered complaints from visiting State Councillor Gu Mu who asked Japan to buy more Chinese oil, textiles and agricultural goods. The latest monthly figure brought Japan’s trade surplus for the first half of 1985 to $U523.08 billion ($45.46 billion), almost 20 per cent higher than the $U519.38 billion ($38.17 billion) surplus recorded in the same period last year. Japan’s current account balance of payments surplus, which takes into account invisible earnings like tourism, shipping, and insurance payments, was also a record in June at $U55.55 billion ($10.83 billion) compared with a previous record of SUS4.BO billion ($9.45 billion) in December, 1984.

The current account surplus for the first half of the year totalled $U520.07 billion ($39.53 billion), a 35 per cent increase on the $U514.78 billion ($29.11 billion) surplus in the first half of 1984, said the Finance Minister.