The Tokyo Representative of the American Electronics Association following the announcement of Japan's action program stated that it showed that most Japanese government industries are not truly interested in liberalizing the Japanese market. The US measuring instruments industry is reportedly becoming angered at trade trends with Japan. This has long been one of the very few fields where Japan has suffered a trade deficit. As recently as three years ago Japan imported as much as five times more than it importe. That was reduced to 1.46 times in 1984 and this year they expect a trade surplus.
Exports are likewise surging.
Another maker noted that precisely because the semiconductor market is down, this is an excellent time to develop the US market. That's why they will get their foot in the door for future opportunities. Concerning possible trade conflicts caused by stepped up exports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment , one firm pointed out that the superior manufacturing equipment was one of the key reasons behind the phenomenal success of Japanese semiconductor firms. One Japanese firm charged that this company was said to be discriminating against an American firm by not being able to deliver some of its equipment to the American firm within a short time. The Japanese Electronics Industry Association has started investigating the advisability of initiating voluntary controls on exports of computers and peripherals in order to avoid trade frictions.