Keidanren-USA is the Washington DC office of Nippon Keidanren. Keidanren-USA’s mission is to promote greater understanding in the United States of the importance of the bilateral trade and investment relationship to the US and Japanese economies, and to support policies that strengthen bilateral trade relations. Toward this end, Keidanren-USA sponsors a range of activities, including several policy event series, and publications, and participates in the quarterly Caravan program.
Key policy issues include:
The WTO Doha round
Trade liberalization can play a vital role in boosting worldwide economic growth and the overall welfare of developing and developed countries, workers and consumers. Given the important economic and political stakes for all WTO member countries, we urge our government leaders and all WTO ministers to move the agriculture and NAMA negotiations forward and push ahead with the negotiations in services, rules and trade facilitation, so the promise of the WTO Doha Development Agenda can be achieved this year.
Selected Keidanren statements:
*Business Roundtable-Keidanren Statement on the Doha Development Agenda (June 2008)
*Global Business and Manufacturers Statement on the WTO Doha Round (November 2007)
*Global Services Coalition: Doha Round Services Negotiations Must Deliver Ambitious Results (September 2007)
*International Business Statement on the Doha Development Agenda: Failure is Not an Option (January 2007)
U.S.-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)
Keidanren believes that a United States-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) holds tremendous potential for the Japanese, American, and global economies. Moreover, a bilateral EPA presents an opportunity for the world's two largest economies to establish a blueprint of what international economic liberalization should look like in the 21st century. Keidanren urges the Japanese government to begin discussions creating a framework for negotiations as soon as possible. Keidanren also believes that an EPA must complement, not replace, other efforts to expand economic growth through trade and investment, including the Doha Round and bilateral and regional efforts.
Selected Keidanren Statements:
*Joint Statement U.S-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (January 2007)
*Call for the Start of Joint Study for a Japan-U.S. Economic Partnership Agreement (November, 2006)
Competition Policy
With the development of the borderless economy and global markets, Keidanren recognizes the increasing importance of the Antimonopoly Act, which stipulates the basic rules that regulate Japan’s economy. However, the current rules for the procedures preceding an order by the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) and the appeals process fall far short of the US/European rules, not fully ensuring due process or enforcement predictability, which are essential preconditions for any nation pledging full-fledged "rule of law". Keidanren urges the Japanese government to reform the Antimonopoly Act with regard to the JFTC investigation and appeals processes, and in October 2007 released proposed recommendations to pending legislation in the Japanese Diet:
*Proposal for Comprehensive Amendments to the Antimonopoly Act (November 2007)
Climate Change
Nippon Keidanren has long supported efforts to address climate change, even before the Kyoto Protocol's 1997 adoption, establishing the Keidanren Voluntary Action Plan on the Environment in 1996. During the commitment period under the post-2012 framework as well as that of the Kyoto Protocol, Keidanren is committed to working toward preventing global climate change. Keidanren believes technological innovations are the key to curbing and reducing global carbon dioxide emissions. We must enhance and strengthen domestic and international partnerships between industry, government and academia, with an eye to the ongoing dissemination of existing technologies and the development of innovative technologies. For this reason, we believe country emission reduction targets should principally be based on energy efficiency, and a sectoral approach should be introduced in the post-2012 international framework.
Keidanren has issued several policy proposals promoting effective measures against global climate change under a new post-2012 framework, including:
*Basic Standpoint on Climate Change Negotiations (March 2008)
*Keidanren's Proposal for a Post-2012 International Framework on Preventing Climate Change (October 2007)
*Toward the Post 2012 International Framework on Climate Change (April 2007)
Labor Policy (Aging Workforce)
To address Japan’s aging workforce challenge, Keidanren supports reexamination of the traditional Japanese-Style Employment System, which has been characterized by the mass hiring of college graduates, long-term employment and in-house labor-management relations. As a means to cope with the declining domestic labor force, Keidanren promotes employment of a more diverse labor force including young workers with a few years of job experience, those who had been working in temporary jobs, women, seniors, non-Japanese workers, and persons with disabilities. Keidanren also supports the revaluation of seniority-based pay that simply reflects length of service, and supports unbiased and transparent evaluation systems based on job performance, role and degree of contribution to the organization. Furthermore, Keidanren recognizes the importance of maintaining a work-life balance that gives workers greater job satisfaction, leading to higher productivity. In this regard, Keidanren promotes flexible employment, such as shortened hours, telework, home-based work or other types of employment that are not time- or location-specific.
Recent Keidanren policy and research papers:
*The Declining Birthrate in Japan, and Meeting Japan’s Aging Challenge (Japan Economic Currents, Keizai Koho Center, February 2008)
*New Directions for the Japanese-Style Employment System (December 2007)
*Second Set of Recommendations on Accepting Non-Japanese Workers (March 2007)
*Recommendations on Accepting Non-Japanese Workers (April 2004)
CFIUS reform
Keidanren also supports CFIUS reform legislation and implementation that do not establish undue, burdensome requirements for foreign investors. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is an inter-agency body of the U.S. government designated by the President to implement Section 721 of the Defense Production Act (also known as Exon-Florio) provision adopted by Congress in 1988. Exon-Florio provides for national security reviews of foreign mergers, acquisitions and takeovers.
