Külpolitika - A Magyar Külügyi Intézet elméleti-politikai folyóirata - 1983 (10. évfolyam)
1983 / 2. szám - A tanulmányok orosz és angol nyelvű tartalmi kivonata
János Király: The Latin American policy of the Reagan administration World wide aspects and the treating of regional conflicts in the context of the East— West confrontation are becoming more apparent in U.S. Latin American policy. In endeavours to regain hegemony increasing reference is made to the strategical importance of the area and the national security interests of the U.S. All this is reflected in the Sante Fé documents. True enough the possibility of certain reforms in cooperation between the U.S. and Latin America is not excluded, but there is no intention to carry out basic changes in the Inter-American relationship and its institutions which determined relations within the continent, and which had been conceived in a Pan American spirit. Conflicts of approach are becoming more, acute particularily in two areas: the Central American revolutionary process, more precisely the Salvadorean question, and the Falk- lands/Malouines conflict. The Latin American countries stand united in opposition to every endeavour to prepare open American military interference in the political, economic or social structures of the Latin American countries, desiring to subject them to world wide American interests. In its Central American and Carribean policy however the U.S* finds itself in conflict not only with the Latin American countries but also with those of Western Europe and the Socialist International who as against imperialist American steps which to create longterm stability in this part of the Western 'hemisphere. Inter-American relations and their institutions are going through a period of crisis. Latin America is more determined than ever to reject American hegemony and to ensure cooperation within the area without U.S. participation. András Inotai: Conflict competition and possibilities for cooperation in EC—Japanese relations The paper is concerned with relations between the Western European integration and Japan. Their economic resources characteristics essentially differ. The EC consists of ten countries that can certainly not be considered monolithic, while Japan disposes over a particularily well integrated domestic market and a clearly defined economic policy. The differing geographic and economic background prompting differing responses to the challenges of the seventies is discussed. In spite of its greater economic weight and domestic reserves the West European integration could not cope with the strain of two oil-price explosions within a decade. In warding off the first it still managed to keep in step with Japan, by the time of the second, however, the reserves were exhausted. Following the second oil-price shock differences in competivity in bilateral trade had become manifest. Between 1978 and 1981 the EC trade deficit with Japan grew from 6.3 milliard dollars to twelve. This Japanese success has increasingly, since the middle seventies, been shored up by Japanese economic diplomacy. Bilateral trade oddly enough shows many features characteristic of trade between a developed and an underdeveloped region and not between two developed areas. Japanese exports contain a large proportion of high tech goods while EC exports to Japan include a considerable ratio of foods and industrial raw materials and semi-processed goods. This situation explains protectionist measures on the part of the EC, and demands that the Japanese market should lower some of its barriers. The author does not agree with the usual view which ascribes Japanese successes to low defence expenditure, cheap labour, the small sums spent on aid etc. but explains them by strategic planning which does not confine itself to generalities, determining instead what is to be done in the long term and for particular markets. A further favourable role is played by the modernity of the Japanese commodity structure, modern technologies, high productivity, the standards of training, and the socio-economic ambience, and the careful choice of trading partners. The 1980s are unlikely to improve the relative position of the EC. Experience so far suggests that higher Japanese competivity cannot be made up for by trade policy measures alone. A making up of the lee-way demands a strengthening technology policy and community economic policy. It is likely that there will be more joint EC—Japanese activities in third countries. Cooperation will very likely transcend the commercial sphere. Japanese —EC relations can thus be expected to strengthen in the eighties though the politico-economic line becoming more independent of the U. S. is unlikely. vn
