Bush’s Tokyo trip hits ‘desert storm’ of criticism
j Republican challenger,
Democrats say visit trans
parent election ploy that did
nothing for the trade deficit
U A'SHtNCTON M*( lop Hush .„!
imnislr.il ion offic t>»Is dented Sunil.iv
lh.it President Hush s trade mission ‘
Japan was a flop, with the su re!ar\ ••!
i ninmiTi i1 desc ribing it as tin* econnm
equivalent of ()p »ra!ion Desert Storm
Hut Bush e halltmger JSitric k Hue hanan
derided it as a flawo'* and Sen Lloyd
Bentsen, D Texas. c ailed it obviously a
political trip to assist (Hush) in his ?•
elec tton < ampaign
Hentsen announced that his Senate i-•,
nance Committee would hold hearing
nevt week liH’X.lllinii' the Japanese If. j.
concessions that Hush lias said will in
aS- at least 200.000 Arneric an jobs
\ationai Serurity Adviver Hr- n t
Sc owe:roll sought to sidestep th* • ’
i isms, saving he didn't believe '-any
tiling really negative happened
Hush's c cuitfoverstal journey to A• :
>vitli 11 S automakers and other exec i
lives in tovs
the trip ns ii whole was really a del
h.lte sue (CSS, Sc OWf r'oft • ; 1 l) (3S
"|-'.n e the Nation
rr J i j .pills th' f .ih.nr’ Vs • i
b*i u;r,r i,;< iirr,i| ch.itfriinn of Hush • re
riiTtiott lirivr. s-mf the {'resilient vs.is
supporting the it oummi .security ■' tins'
• . ho ti fm
I. rit mil:tars WI urity
V ( vs *
S'.Mid.i\ ■ -.111S Bush ss ,i'. ou! ’In ri
. jobs ii.i! yelling business i. \
V 1. ! 'hr ;.! . m : ‘ hi .::;i
i .nk. v i: ri >i;<i : ’ i i in I In |;Sl p.i;,!
i xetutives ill Hush's party. who T>
their i flliMsms of ■'Japura ■ .• Iraib- ; ;.n
nil's ! i.iV■ III.nil levs (■!! '!*• I !• *
Ciifs lot liijiaiii'si' (.(iiisuiiii rs
I s .uito safhs are . i. a -• hi o.; . •. :
(r MT.i Mi ’ll." hist Hu ; ill,' ■ '!
plans : i lay off ' I (HH) vs >rrs
Vo- . 1 if !■!:.■ .ii in i'H .in" :
II. IV I- iwTTi fl'f! flcttll'. !■-.-■ !n : i :
1 !. 1 iSI . I ,1*1. 111! h.i!
iii'r.iusi' fill .infos V. . : I h.i ’ :
onr total if.ufi' dofii ll ss 1 ‘ i;:.n
V. for ..ii', hafij !i ■ > ,
Musi, ii her' s.iid U ■! vs <,11 v
.iiv. nil inns vs <• ri put!
vs ori. .iti.f stop vs. :;; !
vse Wight lx- hurting St Tie I• i- • ti l .
ings ••
Bush challenger Patrick
Buchanan derided it as
‘a fiasco’ and Sen. Uoyd
Bent sen, D-Texas, called
it ‘obviously a political
trip to assist (Bush) in
his reflection
campaign. ’
i! >':i w I. :,[• Hi.it t.ikifig
businessmen on tin1 presidential trip
"•is Ittgld\ i untrm ersi.d
: 11..:;i i think'. 11 ought In be .1 norin.il
1 ^ tu * in' Mini but added th.it it (hi!
:■ > 1 lup .1 lx tti-r understanding he
.. . ;i Business and government (on)
n ihtn 1 tmlil i ooperute
ti-i 1..iti. wlii Inipes In wrrst tin'
■ ' • ' tii in mat ion from Bush, described
:: mp.is a fl.isi n ' Bush "got ,i re.tlit\
• ’'i.y 1 ■ nn his vision of .1 new
; 1 1 : • Bui h.in.in said on \B( I \
Afn i till' '■
When B ■ -.ought concessions from
■ M !: k hi' got something close
;• .! s' 'nr- w ,i 1 f !!:n h.miin said "I hop'
the president will realize he's got 1,1
!.1 kinj4 care of Ins own country
first
Beidsen s.iul lb I' finance Committee
would hold a hearing when Congress re
turns Jan 22 to si rulinlze the Japanese
i uiici’ssioris, which' Benlsen described
is "too little, 10 years too late
He said the S-11 billion trade deficit
with : Japan defies economic: logic, be
cause it's declined l)v only Sr> billion in
the last six years while the dollar has
fallen more than SO percent against the
yen in the same period
Bentsen. who also appeared on "Fac e
the Nation, questioned why Flush look
ins national sec urity adviser to. Tokyo,
hut not Ins trade representative, (.aria
HUi* ;
The lac I is that trade has always
been an afterthought lor this adniimstra
lion and the previous one. said Bent
sen. the IflllH Democratic vice presiden
tial candidate
"Today's rec ess ion is part of the pric
yye are pay ing for years of inattention to
trade, he said "This country 'needs a
comprehensive national economic sir.;'
egy not a three-day trip to Japan "
^asssav*”'
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STUVEN1S: vv,nTV.R VVHM M* fe ^ deadU« <»r
, ry: VBlO^'i^acum I J
13th & Kincaid, Open Monday - Saturday, Ph. 346-4331
Yankees see
Detroit’s Big 3
as 3 big oafs
WASHINGTON (Al’J l'tn
editorial cartoon depicts .1
huge, hulking football player
with "Detroit" emblazoned on
Ills jersey
No fair! He keeps hitting
mu'" in1 whines to the referee. ,1
George Bust) look alike The big
guy points toward an under
sized hut trim player wearing a
"Japan" jersey who scampers
across tiie goal line, trium
phantly vseving the hall
It's typical oi the ridicuh
heaped upon tiie chairmen o!
the Big Three U S automakers
iiv tiie Japanese media during
their v isit last week
Except that tins particular
dart wasn’t thrown by tiie Japa
nese It was die work ol a Gin
1 ago Tribune cartoonist
And it underscores a big
problem lor the I S auto in
dustry and its congressional al
lies in their struggle to knot k
down Japanese trade barriers
and stave off further Japanese'
gains in tin Amerii an auto
market
Japanese car sales Iti the
United States have1 risen steadi
ly lor decades, and they now
claim about tt percent oi the
U S market The Big Three s
share has fallen from 100 per
cent in l ti e m id 10 50s 1 o
around 00 percent today
I ht; Hig I hree grudgingly ac
knowledge their quality fell in
the l<)7()s and early lMHOs and
the Japanese took advantage of
it Hal the Amern an companies
say those days are over, and in
dustry analysts agree that l' S
quality has improved
But buyers have been slow to
respond
"If you bough! a clunker six
years ago. the product today
may be terrific but your impres
sion of what they're doing is
based on a 6-year-old experi
ence," said Clyde I’rostowliz.
president of the fconomii
Strategy Institute, a researi h
group partially funded by the
automakers
During the visit to Japan, edi
torial writers and commenta
tors of all ideological stripes
lambasted the chairmen of
Chrysler, l-ord and Conerel Mo
tors and belittled their com
plaints of unfair competition