Three senators urged Japan to buy U.S. auto parts

The senators told a top trade official from Japan that if Japanese car makers don’t buy more U.S. auto parts, Congress may pass protectionist legislation. Sens. Dan Quayle, (R-Ind.), Carl Levin, (D-Mich.), and Pete Wilson, (R-Calif.), met with Makoto Kuroda, vice minister of Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry, who is in this country for the latest round of bilateral negotiations on U.S.-Japan trade in auto parts and accessories. U.S. manufacturers supply less than 1% of the parts used in cars made in Japan, and only about 40%of the parts used in cars produced at Japanese plants in the United states.