March 2010. Significant barriers to U.S. trade and investment faced in the last year in Japan, as well as the actions being taken by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to address those barriers.

JAPAN

Barriers to a Level Playing Field in Insurance, Banking, and Express Delivery: U.S. companies face an unlevel playing field in Japan’s insurance, banking, and international express delivery sectors in light of preferential treatment given to Japan Post by the Japanese government.  Examples of advantages in the insurance sector include preferential supervisory treatment given to Japan Post Insurance over its private sector competitors, and preferential access for Japan Post Insurance to distribute its products through the Japan Post network.  As Japan considers further reforms to Japan Post, while neutral on whether Japan Post should be privatized, the United States continues to urge Japan to fully resolve issues of preferential treatment and establish a level playing field, consistent with its international obligations.

JAPAN AND KOREA

Restricted Market Access for Autos: Market access for U.S. autos is restricted by Japan and Korea through a variety measures, leading to very low market share for U.S. and other imported autos.  In the case of Korea, these measures include tariffs, standards, and discriminatory taxes.  The pending KORUS FTA would address many of the tariff, tax, and standards issues, and we are consulting with Congress and U.S. stakeholders to develop proposals for addressing outstanding concerns with the agreement and further leveling the playing field for U.S. autos.  In Japan, a variety of non-tariff barriers have impeded access, including a lack of transparency in the process of certifying for import new technology vehicles for testing and demonstration purposes.  In 2009, Japan also implemented its “cash for clunkers” program in a way that excluded many U.S. autos.  Although improvements were made to the program in early 2010, barriers still remain.

http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/fact-sheets/2010/march/-2010-national-trade-estimate-report-key-elements