A Study On Japan's Strategic Trade Policy After World War ?

The strategic trade policy theory believes that in an imperfectly competitive market,taking state intervention as the starting point can obtain maximum trade benefits and improve the country's economic welfare.The Japanese government is generally regarded as a model for implementing strategic trade policies.As an island country with a severe shortage of natural resources,Japan has a large population and a small land area.Its economic development is restricted by multiple objective factors such as resources,environment,energy,and markets.However,after World War II,the Japanese economy rose rapidly from the ruins of the war,realized the continuous optimization and upgrading of industrial structure and the continuous growth of export trade,and successively picked "economic powers","financial powers"," The largest creditor country" and other laurels in the international economic arena,and successfully ranked among the ranks of developed countries.It can be said that the achievement of Japan's status as a major economic power is closely related to the effective development of foreign trade activities.There are even many analyses believe that Japan's economic achievements are largely due to the successful implementation of strategic trade policies by the Japanese government.After World War II,the Japanese government implemented different strategic trade policies in different periods of economic development in accordance with changes in the international environment and the needs of domestic economic development.The economic recovery period(1945?1955)was the embryonic stage of Japan's strategic trade policy.During this period,the Japanese government adopted policies to restrict imports,revitalize exports,and actively protect and support domestic industries in order to quickly restore the national economy and realize industrial reconstruction.The period of rapid economic growth(1956-1973)was the initial stage of Japan's strategic trade policy.The content of Japan's trade policy began to shift from restricting imports and replacing imports to export-oriented and expanding exports.The Japanese government adjusted tariff policies to replace import restrictions and set Tariff rates that are conducive to the development of strategic industries,gradually relax restrictions on foreign investment to enhance the international competitiveness of industries,and strategically support the development of heavy chemical industries through the combination of trade policies and industrial policies.During the period of steady economic growth and the bubble economy(1973-1991),the implementation of Japan's strategic trade policy entered an advanced stage,with equal emphasis on coordination and competition.On the one hand,it further promoted trade liberalization policies to reduce the condemnation of various countries.Diversify the export market to ensure more trade benefits,actively play the role of foreign investment and economic assistance in promoting trade,and efficiently allocate resources on a global scale through trade and investment liberalization in economies of scale,and strategically promote The development of knowledge-intensive and technology-intensive industries will improve the export competitiveness of enterprises through reduced operations and further adjustment of the industrial structure,thereby promoting the expansion of the scale of import and export trade and driving the rebound and development of the domestic economy.During the long economic downturn(1991-present),in response to the changes in the strategic environment for domestic and foreign economic and trade development in the new period after the Cold War,Japan continued to implement a high-level strategic trade policy that simultaneously developed trade and investment,and implemented a multi-level and flexible free trade strategy.To obtain maximum trade benefits,while continuing to play a role in the global multilateral trading system,actively carry out strategic trade diplomacy,and use bilateral and multilateral trade coordination to further gain trade advantages and promote the sustainable development of the country's economy.Looking at Japan's economic development over the past 70 years after the war,“protecting industries and fostering exports” has always been a main thread running through Japan's trade policy.From the perspective of strategic trade policy,before the mid-1970 s,Japan implemented a strategic trade policy at the initial stage,that is,under the conditions of imperfect competition and economies of scale,through the development of strategic industries and High-tech industries with an "external economy" effect should be protected and supported,so as to obtain economies of scale and improve the international competitiveness of domestic industries.From the mid-1970 s to the present,Japan has implemented a high-level strategic trade policy,that is,determining the principle of reasonable international division of labor in industries with economies of scale,and through the liberalization of trade and investment in industries with economies of scale,and efficient deployment worldwide Resources to continue to gain trade advantages and promote sustainable economic development.From a national perspective,due to the existence of imperfect competition and incomplete information,as well as the influence of unfair income distribution,economic externalities,and irregular economic order,the regulatory role of market mechanisms is not omnipotent.The inherent defects of market mechanisms are The state's intervention in economic and trade activities provides the reasons and basis,and under certain conditions,the role of the state government's intervention is irreplaceable.It can improve terms of trade,transfer monopoly profits,and strengthen competitive advantages.Therefore,safeguarding international trade interests requires government's intervention.Appropriate intervention and the realization of national interests require correct trade policies.Japan's “government-led” market economy model has laid an important institutional foundation for the effective implementation of strategic trade policies.After the Second World War,under the guidance of the national strategy,the Japanese government determined strategic target industries based on "dynamic comparative advantages",used fiscal and financial means to protect and support the development of strategic industries,promoted enterprise alliances,improved enterprise economies of scale,and established industry-government education The cooperative national innovation system,the implementation of strategic trade diplomacy,and the implementation of strategic trade policies suitable for Japan's national conditions according to the needs of Japan's economic development in different periods,and the successful application of strategic trade policies have also contributed to Japan's national strategy from "economic center orientation" to The development and evolution of the "great power goal" played an important role in promoting.From an industrial perspective,one of the most prominent features of Japan's post-war economic development is to focus on industrial policies,combine industrial modernization with strategic trade policies,and comprehensively use various economic and administrative means to fully support those with economies of scale.The development of strategic industries with external economies has enabled it to achieve the strategic goal of catching up with European and American economic powers with strong international competitiveness.It has not only realized industrial modernization,but also promoted the continuous rise of Japanese industries to the high end of the global value chain.The great development of Japan's automobile industry,steel industry,and semiconductor industry after the war is a model of the successful application of strategic trade policies and industrial policies.From the perspective of the enterprise,Japan's special corporate organization system has an important relationship with the successful use of Japan's strategic trade policies.Enterprise groups provide a powerful basic carrier for the implementation of strategic trade policies,and a unique series of corporate systems provide a powerful operating mechanism for the implementation of strategic trade policies,and the comprehensive trading company has opened up a solid frontier for the implementation of strategic trade policies.Japanese companies realize economies of scale through mergers and acquisitions to create conditions for the implementation of strategic trade policies.Japanese companies' foreign direct investment also shows the characteristics of being closely integrated with industrial development and trade interests.Japanese multinational companies' business strategies also contain strategic trade policies.In addition,Japanese companies' technology trade and strategic trade policies cooperate with each other,and Japan's policies to promote technology introduction and research and development are the main manifestations of strategic trade policies.Japan's strategic trade policy has the characteristics of clear goals,prominent focus,flexible use and pursuit of dynamic effects.However,the strategic trade policy is a double-edged sword.It not only has positive effects on Japan's economic growth,industrial structure upgrading,and improved competitiveness,but also has some negative effects and consequences on the long-term development of Japan's economy and trade.At present,China's economy has entered a stage of high-quality development,and the level of opening up to the outside world has been continuously improved.The development of China's foreign trade is at a critical stage of accelerating the pace of structural adjustment and the continuous conversion of new and old momentum.With the rapid development of China's foreign trade,there are also problems such as structural imperfections.The structure of China's foreign trade commodities is still dominated by imported processed products and labor-intensive products.In terms of high-tech products that can best represent a country's export competitiveness,there is still a big gap between China and the powerful trading countries.From the perspective of the external environment facing China's foreign trade development,the current growth rate of developed countries and emerging economies is structurally slowing down,trade protectionism and unilateralism are on the rise,the new round of international industrial competition is more intense,and the situation of trade frictions is severe and complex.The current foreign trade situation highlights the importance of strategic trade policies.Although the strategic trade policy theory was first proposed by Western economists and explained and studied from the perspective of application in developed countries,it is also applicable to developing countries and can provide good guidance for economic development and trade policy formulation of developing countries.A pure market economy may be conducive to the improvement of the world economy and welfare,but it may not be the best choice for developing countries.The imperfect competition and information asymmetry in the international market determine market imperfections.It provides a theoretical basis for a country's government to intervene in the economy.Japan's successful experience in implementing strategic trade policies after the war has important enlightenments to my country's economic and trade development: one is to pay attention to the government's intervention and support role;the other is to rationally use trade policy tools based on respect for WTO principles;It is to cultivate and expand strategic emerging industries,the fourth is to formulate reasonable foreign investment strategies,and the fifth is to implement export incentives and concentrate efforts to open up the international market.