When it comes to world trade, temporary can mean a long time. Four years ago, Japanese automakers "voluntarily" agreed to limit exports to the U.S. for two years. The Japanese government assigned each of eight companies a strict quota on the number of vehicles it could ship to the U.S. The total exported each year was 1.8 million cars. The restrictions, of course, were not really voluntary, since the Japanese firms acted only to stop the U.S. Congress from imposing even tougher controls. The restraints were twice extended for a year, but last week President Reagan announced that they were finally...
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