Seeing a marked improvement in one area of semiconductor pricing, the US has decided to lift 17% of the $300m trade sanctions imposed on Japanese companies, President Reagan announced on his arrival in Venice for this week’s seven-nation economic summit. The announcement followed a bilateral meeting between Reagan and Japan’s Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, and the partial lifting of sanctions is strictly proportional to progress to date, Reagan said. Japan had made progress in the area of dynamic RAMs, where compliance with the fair market rules was found to have increased to 85%, from 59% at the time the sanctions were imposed. The move is expected to ease deeply strained US-Japan trade relations. The Semiconductor Industry Association wants the US government to help fund an SIA office in Tokyo.
