THE WINDS OF CHANGE IN JAPANESE TRADE POLICY: TEXTILE MULTINATIONALS AND INTRA-INDUSTRY CLASHES OVER MARKET PROTECTION

Abstract

This analysis of the Japanese textile sector illustrates how intra-industry cleavages are becoming an integral feature of Japanese trade policymaking. In the past, a pattern of cross-sectoral variation in trade policy could be observed, as the government protected declining industries at home and sought to open foreign markets for the competitive export sector. The internationalization of Japanese firms, however, has radically affected the articulation of corporate trade policy preferences. There is an ongoing breakdown in solidarity among industry members based on their degree of multinationality and/or their reverse importing strategies. These clashes put contradictory pressures on the Japanese government, making it more difficult to predict the course of trade liberalization in Japan.

Citation

Pekkanen, S. and Solis, M. (2004), "THE WINDS OF CHANGE IN JAPANESE TRADE POLICY: TEXTILE MULTINATIONALS AND INTRA-INDUSTRY CLASHES OVER MARKET PROTECTION", Roehl, T. and Bird, A. (Ed.) Japanese Firms in Transition: Responding to the Globalization Challenge (Advances in International Management, Vol. 17), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 89-111. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0747-7929(04)17004-2