Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Friday, December 25, 1998
Japan defends tax on imported rice
TOKYO -- Japan defended its decision to impose a heavy tax on imported rice today, arguing that not only was the move allowed under an international agreement, but that it will be good for global trade.Japan's Cabinet endorsed a plan a week ago to impose heavy duties on foreign rice to protect the country's politically influential farmers. "Although the decision was made in our national interest, in the long-term it will be positive for the overall multilateral trade system," said an official from Ja-pan's Foreign Ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The United States and other trading partners have strongly opposed the tariff, which they say will restrict sales of imported rice at a time when Japan's global trade surplus is ballooning.
Sales rose 13% at DaimlerChrysler
FRANKFURT, Germany -- Combined sales at the newly merged DaimlerChrysler AG rose 13 percent this year to 260 billion marks, or $158 billion.Daimler-Benz AG and Chrysler Corp., which completed their $32.8 billion merger last month, had combined 1997 sales of about 229.3 billion marks, the merged automaker reported yesterday. Details on the new company's 1998 profits will be released at the Detroit Auto Show in January. Analysts expect DaimlerChrysler to post a net profit of between 10 billion and 11 billion marks, or $6 billion to $6.7 billion), in 1998, after a combined 8.04 billion marks in 1997
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