Support for President Bush's Trade Talks With Japan

I disagree with the opinion of Bush's "trade shootout" expressed in the editorial "Bush's Tokyo Ploy," Jan. 3. The author called it unwise diplomacy because of the need for United States-Japanese cooperation on regional and security issues.

That worn out-argument has made our industrial base vulnerable for too long. How many more industries would the author allow us to lose in the name of "US-Japanese" cooperation?

Is the author saying that the Japanese will cooperate with the US only if we allow them to continue to have unfair trade advantages? And they do have unfair trade advantages.

Many American businesses, asleep like our government for so long, are striving to be more competitive. They can't afford to wait for the "level playing field" to enter the Japanese market. But let's not discourage the belated attempts of this administration to assist them. Michael Fisher, Costa Mesa, Calif.

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