| She was essentially finishing Mulroneys long run at the helm, with the polls showing a rising tide of support for the opposition leader, Jean ChrtienOur host, Kiichi Miyazawa, was widely regarded as a lame duck in a Japanese political system in which the long monopoly of the Liberal Democratic Party was coming to an endMiyazawa may have been a lame duck, but he was an impressive one, with sophisticated understanding of the worldHe spoke colloquial English about as well as I didAnd he was also a patriot who wanted the G-7 meeting to reflect well on his country
The conventional wisdom held that Helmut Kohl, the long-serving German chancellor, was also in trouble, because his poll numbers were down and his Christian Democratic Party had suffered some recent losses in local elections, but I thought Kohl still had plenty of life in his leadershipHe was a huge man, about my height and weighing well over three hundred poundsHe spoke with great conviction in a direct, often brusque manner, and he was a world-class storyteller with a good sense of humorAnd in more than size he was the largest figure on the European continent in decadesHe had reunified Germany, funneling massive sums of money from West to East Germany to lift the incomes of those who had made far less under communismKohls Germany had become the largest financial supporter of Russian democracyHe was also the leading force behind the emerging European Union, and he was in favor of admitting Poland, cartier santos white Hungary, and the Czech Republic into both the EU and the NATO allianceFinally, Kohl was deeply troubled by Europes passivity in Bosnia and thought, as I did, that the United Nations should lift the arms embargo because it was unfair to the Bosnian MuslimsOn all the great questions facing Europe, he was on the right side, and pushing hard for his point of viewHe felt if he got the big things right, the polls would followI liked Helmut Kohl a lotOver the next several years, through many meals, visits, and phone calls, we would forge a political and personal bond that would bear great fruit for Europeans and Americans alike
I was optimistic about the prospects for the G-7 because I was bringing a strong agenda to the meeting and because I believed all the other leaders were smart enough to know that the best way to get out of trouble at home was to do something meaningful in TokyoJust as the conference opened, we crossed one threshold, when our trade ministers agreed that all of us would lower tariffs to zero on ten different manufacturing sectors, opening markets for hundreds of billions of dollars worth of tradeIt was Mickey Kantors first victory as our trade ambassadorHe had proved to be a tough, effective negotiator, with skills that eventually would produce more than two hundred agreements, sparking an expansion of trade that would account for almost 30 percent of our economic growth over the next eight years
After we agreed on a generous aid package, the fake tiffany heart drop earrings G-7 meeting also left no doubt that the rich nations were all committed to helping RussiaOn the matter of coordinating our economic policies, the results were more ambiguousI was working to bring the deficit down, and Germanys central bank had just lowered interest rates, but Japans willingness to stimulate its economy and open its borders to more foreign trade and com-petition remained unclearThat was progress Id have to achieve in our bilateral talks with the Japanese, which began right after the G-7 meeting
In 1993, because Japan was dealing with economic stagnation and political uncertainty, I knew it would be hard to get changes in trade policy, but I had to tryClearly our large trade deficit with Japan was due in part to protectionismFor example, they wouldnt buy our skis, saying they werent the right widthI had to find a way to push open Japanese markets without damaging our important security partnership, which was essential to building a stable future for AsiaWhile I was making these points in a speech to Japanese students at Waseda University, Hillary went on her own charm offensive in Japan, finding an especially warm reception among the increasingly large number of young, well-educated working women
Prime Minister Miyazawa agreed in principle to my suggestion that we achieve a framework agreement committing ourselves to specific measurable steps to improve our trade relationshipSo did the Japanese Foreign Ministry, whose senior civil servant, d |