Chapter 459: Countermeasures
Shirakawa Kaede came to Chuo Ward to attend the Keidanren meeting this time, and it was actually the same old routine.
It is nothing more than counting the various losses in Shirakawa Electric's export trade since the latest quarter.
In addition, if anyone in the group has any good ideas, they can also bring them up for discussion at the meeting.
However, regarding the issue of semiconductor sanctions and overseas trade, Shirakawa Feng has no good solution.
How could he alone influence this kind of struggle between countries?
Besides, Shirakawa Holdings has not yet grown to the point where it can influence national policies.
"Mr. Shirakawa, what do you think about the new round of sanctions from the United States?
As far as I know, your group's chips and export-oriented electronic products have been affected to a certain extent, right?"
Just when Shirakawa Kaede and Kamachi Sachiko were sitting quietly in the back row, ready to be invisible, the current Keidanren Chairman Saito Eishiro suddenly Cue him.
Baichuan Feng looked around and saw a large group of old men over 50 or 60 years old, all silently turning their gazes here.
Alas, I am a young man and I just wanted to be a transparent person.
But, I can’t even join in the fun.
There was no choice but to stand up and bow slightly to the people around him before Baichuan Feng began to speak.
“The businesses of SIC and Shirakawa Electric have indeed been affected to a certain extent, especially the latter, which has suffered heavy losses since the 100% tariff was imposed.”
As soon as he finished speaking, many people nodded in agreement. They were all in the business world, and they all felt the same way.
"As for your opinion, Saito-san, you are too much of an embarrassment to me. With you seniors in charge, Japan's economy will not be in chaos."
Ahem~ Although this Baichuan is a little young, he is still steady. As expected of a descendant of the Chinese race, his upbringing and cultivation show his profound background.
Baichuan Feng's flattery made everyone present look much better.
They are all decision-makers of many companies under the ancient chaebols, and in terms of seniority they are veritable seniors in the financial world.
Even though Keidanren has more than a thousand corporate members, only a few dozen of them can actually attend the meetings.
Among them, the direct descendants of the six major chaebols account for more than half, and the rest are emerging chaebols such as Shirakawa Holdings or other local chaebols.
To be honest, with Baichuan Feng's qualifications, if he were not the founder of Baichuan Holdings, he would never have been able to attend such a meeting.
Keidanren, that's a group that can directly participate in the formulation of the constitution. Looking at the entire Neon, this is almost the role played by the chess player who holds power.
Therefore, it is normal for some old stubborn people to feel uncomfortable when Baichuan Feng appears here at such a young age.
After all, it took them decades to get to where they are today, but Baichuan Feng is only in his twenties and has already become equal to them. It would be strange if he didn't have some emotions in his heart.
However, Shirakawa Kaede's humble answer did not satisfy Saito Eishiro.
"Mr. Shirakawa, feel free to speak your mind. Everyone is welcome to speak freely today. After all, a 100% tariff affects every company present here."
Hmm? Bai Chuanfeng blinked, and something in his mind dawned on him.
It seems that the sanctions imposed by the United States have put a lot of pressure on the government and Keidanren. They are even asking a young man like me for advice. They must have been forced into a corner.
It's definitely a headache to be forced into this, but Saito Eishiro really wants to hear Shirakawa Kaede's opinion.
He has been paying attention to Shirakawa Holdings for a long time, especially Shirakawa Electric, whose performance in the past two years has been a textbook demonstration.
After the Plaza Accord was signed, Shirakawa Electric began to slow down its expansion, and at that time he heard that Shirakawa Electric was seeking the possibility of overseas OEM.
At first, Saito Eishiro just laughed it off, and he also thought that the other party was overreacting.
But what happened next was beyond everyone's expectations.
The fact that Shirakawa Electric was able to survive various exchange rate wars unscathed later also proved that its initial preparations were a wise move.
Subsequently, changing the place of production to circumvent sanctions from the U.S. Department of Commerce and SIC's factory-less operation model gave Saito Eishiro great inspiration.
He also recently heard that Shirakawa Holdings was undergoing internal adjustments, which might be related to future industrial layout and transformation.
Although the specific details are not known for the time being, Saito Eishiro has reason to believe that Shirakawa Kaede is not making a move without a purpose.
And even though this young man just cried poor, Shirakawa Electric didn't suffer much loss at all.
As a young man with a forward-looking vision and the ability to conceal his shortcomings, Saito Eishiro can only sigh that the establishment of the Shirakawa Zaibatsu was not based on luck.
Not just anyone can become a trendsetters by standing on the tide of the times.
Under the encouraging gaze of the financial boss , Baichuan Feng slightly became serious.
"The Plaza Accord, the MOSS Agreement, the Semiconductor Agreement, and the current trade sanctions, in fact, the US's goal has always been very clear."
"Hmm?" Everyone looked at Baichuan Feng, waiting for his further explanation.
"The United States has always wanted only one thing, and that is the market.
The United States has always wanted to solve only one problem, which is the trade deficit or fiscal deficit. "
These two short sentences revealed the essence of the problem, and everyone's faces turned serious after hearing it.
Many people may understand this truth, but not many can sort out their thoughts.
Many people even believe that the United States is simply .
“But both of these things happen to be related to neon, or they can be viewed as a problem.
That is, in the future global trade market, will the leader be the United States or Japan?
In the field of cutting-edge technology and high value-added automobile industry, who will have the final say in the future, the United States or Japan? "
After the two questions were asked, everyone's expressions could no longer be described as serious; they were simply solemn.
Is it still necessary to ask such a question? Many people already have the answer in their hearts.
Even when Baichuan Feng asked the question, he had already hinted at the answer.
If you put the United States and Japan together and ask who listens to whom, even a three-year-old child would know how to answer.
"Baka! If Japan doesn't want to be number one in military power, can't it also seek to be number one in business now?
The Americans are going too far! As a man of the Showa era, I must fight against them..."
"Shut up! Okuda!"
A burly man in his forties stood up angrily and wanted to shout out the famous saying that comes with its own buff.
However, before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Saito Eishiro and others.
"Hmph!" The big man was furious for a few seconds and still felt indignant.
"Mr. Shirakawa, do you have any suggestions for this situation?" Saito Eishiro became more polite.
“I don’t deserve the advice, as you seniors have seen far more storms than the younger generation.
But if the United States insists on these, then we can only see what we want to grasp and what we can give up appropriately. "
To put it bluntly, Baichuan Feng is not optimistic about a head-on confrontation with the United States. Selectively focusing on key industries and appropriately giving up some interests may allow the situation to develop in a positive direction.
After all, your chain is in someone else's hands, how can they do anything wrong?
Of course, what to hold on to and what to give up is not something Baichuan Feng can decide.
There are people from all walks of life here, and some things you say may offend people.
After a long silence, Saito Eishiro looked at Shirakawa Kaede again, "Besides these, does Shirakawa-san have any other suggestions?"
Obviously, Saito Eishiro also understood the deep meaning of this. In order not to make things difficult for him, Saito Eishiro quickly changed the subject.
"The younger generation thinks that being a little more low-key and not standing out so much in foreign trade will be good for Japan at this time."
"Oh?" Saito Eishiro's eyes lit up, "Please tell me in detail, Shirakawa-san."
After thinking for two seconds, Baichuan Feng spoke slowly. "Although Neon has been the largest trade surplus country with the United States in recent years.
But in fact, Germany, which ranks second, and Izumo, which follows it, only have more than 10 billion US dollars less than us.
If we lower the ranking a bit and put Neon in second place, it won’t be so noticeable.”
Even though Japan has a trade surplus of 40 to 50 billion U.S. dollars with the United States, its trade surplus is actually no less than the second or third largest.
The problem is that Japan is too prominent, ranking first every year and there is not even anyone to share the firepower.
Taking a step back occasionally may not necessarily be a bad thing.
But having said this, Baichuan Feng kept silent again.
Just like before, some things cannot be said openly.
"Thank you for your hard work," Saito Eishiro bowed slightly.
"Thank you for your care." Baichuan Feng returned the greeting.
After nodding in tacit understanding, Saito Eishiro began to move on to the next agenda of the meeting, which was the Toshiba incident.
Tsk, what can I say about this? Toshiba is asking for trouble.
Shirakawa Kaede is very cautious when purchasing local parts in his hometown, but you just sell high-precision machine tools directly.
Do you really think that the whip in the hands of the American father will not hit people? Moreover, they have been selling since 1983, and someone reported it in 1985, and the case was not investigated until 1987.
The relationship between Japan and the United States was already tense enough due to trade issues, and the Toshiba incident made the situation even worse.
This caused Nakasone to personally go to the United States to apologize, and Toshiba also spent 100 million yen to publish a full-page "repentance advertisement" in more than 50 newspapers in the United States.
Not to mention the losses in Toshiba's various businesses in the United States, it is even more of a question whether Toshiba Group can survive this safely.
Toshiba Group President Masaichi Saba, who had once negotiated with Shirakawa Kaede on chip licensing issues, also had to resign.
To this end, the Neon government urgently amended the Export Control Law in July.
Because of this incident, the United States rejected Fujitsu's acquisition of Fairchild Semiconductor.
And there seems to be a sign that Japan is going to take action again in the semiconductor field. These are the impacts of the Toshiba incident on Japan's industrial sector.
The reason why Keidanren brings up the Toshiba incident at this time is to warn major companies to exercise self-control in exports.
We also hope that everyone can brainstorm and help Toshiba overcome this difficulty. After all, this is one of the purposes of the establishment of Keidanren.
In Baichuan Feng's opinion, there is actually nothing to say. If you don't have sovereignty, then just admit your mistake honestly.
The right thing to do is to go to the American father and cry a few words, then mobilize Toshiba's influence in the United States and lobby Congress to reduce the punishment.
After all, the US attitude is the key to this matter, and the internal influence in Japan is secondary.
"Without sovereignty, we are really stretched in every aspect~" Baichuan Feng in the back row sighed softly.
"Eh?" Sachiko Kamachi, who was sitting next to him, looked at him in confusion, not hearing clearly.
"Nothing." Bai Chuanfeng shook his head. "After the meeting is over, go for a walk outside first, and then go meet the other guest."
"Hai" Sachiko Kamachi also felt that the atmosphere here was too serious. Her palms were sweating after staying here for less than an hour.
From the corner of his eye he saw her lowering her head and writing something, and Baichuan Feng's lips curled up slightly. What a quiet person she is.
