United States-Japan Economic Relations: Hearings before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, September-October, 1980

A very important congressional report probing the major issues involved in U.S.-Japanese economic relations-auto imports, market access, non-tariff barriers-and exploring possible solutions to existing problems. A number of experts conclude, as former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Robert Ingersoll put it, that "no set of recommendations will affect our relations [with Japan] more than the improvement in the fundamental strength of the U.S. economy." As long as the U.S. economy suffers from inflation, recession, weak savings and capital formation, declining productivity, etc., says Ingersoll, "our interdependent economic relations with Japan will deteriorate."