
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 26, 1990                   TAG: 9003262217
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A/1   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: TOKYO                                LENGTH: Short

JAPANESE OFFER ADVICE ON DEFICIT

Japan has given the United States a list of 80 suggestions on improving the U.S. economy, including a proposal to limit the number of credit cards American consumers could hold, a newspaper reported today.

The aggressive measures also include imposing a value-added tax, abolishing income tax deductions on housing loans and building high-speed railways to reduce reliance on energy-wasting cars, Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

The measures were aimed at cutting the $49 billion U.S. trade deficit, curbing excessive consumer spending and helping balance the federal budget, the nationally circulated newspaper said.

The proposals were made during unofficial talks between U.S. and Japanese trade negotiators in Warrenton, Va., to discuss economic reforms aimed at shrinking the trade imbalance, the newspaper said.

In the latest round of meetings, dubbed the "Structural Impediments Initiative," U.S. officials urged Japan to revise land use policies, streamline its retail distribution and boost consumption of imports through public investment.

Japanese officials have, in turn, urged the United States to cut its federal budget deficit, increase savings and investment and improve worker training and education to boost the competitiveness of American exports.

Last week, another Japanese newspaper, the Asahi Shimbun, said Washington gave Japan a list of more than 200 suggestions aimed at eliminating structural barriers it said prevent foreign firms from entering Japanese markets.

by CNB