Now that Washington has decided to revive the controversial "Super 301" procedure, Japan should start market-opening discussions with the U.S. to prevent trade conflicts, according to Glen S. Fukushima, a former deputy assistant U.S. trade representative for Japan and China.
The Japanese should not become emotional over last week's revival of Super 301 because the provision is a "natural part" of U.S. trade policy and not intended to target Japan exclusively, said Fukushima, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
But Japan should be aware of high U.S. expectations that the world's second-largest economy will open its markets to imports, he said. "I hope that the U.S. and Japan will sit down and talk about some of the areas of sensitivity," he said in an interview with The Japan Times.