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This report surveys U.S. automobile policy in the 1980s in order to clarify the effects of foreign lobbying. The conclusion is that the success of Japanese and other foreign lobbying on automobile policy has been mixed. Some decisions have gone their way; others have not. Their success is partly because they have aligned their efforts with those of powerful domestic interests.

The U.S. officials interviewed for this study see little chance of an immediate improvement in U.S. relations with Japan over the next year. Trends in the United States and Japan in recent years have led to deepening U.S. frustrations, especially over economic issues. These developments have combined with fundamental changes (notably the collapse of the USSR) affecting U.S.-Japanese political-military ties to lead many U.S. officials to question the allocation of costs and benefits in the U.S.-Japan relationship and to press for arrangements that will alter the allocation in the interests of the United States. U.S. officials assume that their Japanese counterparts are undertaking similar reassessments.

A provision in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Delaney Clause, appears to lower risks in the setting of tolerances for pesticide residues. It prohibits any substance from being added to processed foods if it induces cancer in man or animals. In reality, the provision created a dilemma because the zero-risk statute makes it difficult to regulate pesticides. Because of the prescription of Delaney, tolerances (legal limits) are established differently for carcinogens and non-carcinogens and in raw and processed foods.