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“UNITED STATES-JAPAN INSURANCE AGREEMENT” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S11448 on Sept. 26, 1996.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
UNITED STATES-JAPAN INSURANCE AGREEMENT
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I rise today to express, once again, my profound concerns over the Japanese Ministry of Finance's [MOF] behavior regarding the United States-Japan Insurance Agreement. I have written several times to the Finance Minister of Japan and the President of the United States and spoken directly with the negotiators involved in this matter, yet Japan continues to fail to fulfill its obligations under the agreement to increase access to its insurance market for foreign competitors.
And now, according to reliable reports, MOF intends to take steps that would actually violate the agreement. On or soon after October 1, MOF apparently will allow Japanese companies to enter the third sector of Japan's insurance market, the only sector in which foreign companies have any consequential presence. If MOF takes this action, I believe Japan will have clearly violated the agreement.
I have particularly great concerns with the Ministry of Finance's behavior on this issue because it calls into question the entire Government of Japan's willingness to fulfill its written commitments. That is why I consider this the most serious trade matter facing our two countries.
Mr. President, our patience has been tested by the continuing refusal of Japan to honor its commitments. If MOF now chooses to violate the agreement, the United States will have no choice but to take appropriate actions in response. I want the Ministry of Finance and the Government of Japan to be under no illusions about how strongly I would view such a violation. I will be working closely with Chairman Archer of the House Ways and Means Committee in urging the White House, the USTR, the Treasury Department and the Department of State to take appropriate actions in response to any violation of the agreement.
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