(2016-1126-F) Laura Tyson

The materials in 2016-1126-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related material. Laura Tyson, served as the Chair of the CEA (Council of Economic Advisors) from 1993-1995 and Director of the NEC (National Economic Council) from 1995-1996. Tyson graduated summa cum laude from Smith College in 1969 with a major in economics and continued on to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), earning a Ph.D. in the same subject. During the Clinton administration, Tyson spent some time focusing on trade relations between the United States and Japan. Tyson pursued an agenda of equal trading partners, and to that end emphasized the opening up of sectors of the Japanese economy that had been closed to the U.S. This was especially the case with autos and auto parts. There were negotiations over a Framework Agreement between the U.S. and Japan that encompassed not only autos and auto parts but other areas such as glass, insurance, paper, wood building products, distilled spirits, medical equipment, civil aviation, and semiconductors. At a press conference held on April 12, 1996, as a prelude to President Clinton meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Hashimoto in Tokyo, Tyson and U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor emphasized the progress that had been achieved in the Framework Agreement talks. Specifically, Tyson declared that “we find U.S. exports to Japan having grown over 85 percent since the administration took office in 1993.” There are two relevant documents in the White House Office of Records Management (WHORM)- Alpha File. They are letters attesting to the expertise of Tyson on trade issues. In one case she is congratulated by Alexis Herman, an advisor to President Clinton, for addressing the Board of Directors of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). On the other occasion, Tyson receives a personal letter from the Chief Executive for having won the Consumers for World Trade (CWT) award, which is handed out annually, to an individual for demonstrating “dedicated service to the cause of open and competitive world trade.” In the White House Office of Records Management (WHORM)-Subject File-General material there are memoranda, correspondence, fax cover sheets, notes, and newspaper articles. Most of these documents seem to be related to a Fed Ex (Federal Express) air cargo dispute between the United States and Japan that took place in 1995-1996 and involved the possibility of punitive sanctions on the part of the Clinton administration. Other subjects include a semiconductor agreement reached due to the efforts of USTR Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky (Kantor’s successor) and American rice exports to Japan. In a July 1994 memo addressed to President Clinton, Tyson declares that “California rice has gained acceptance there [i.e. in Japan]. It has sold very well in recent months and is now considered to be of high quality by Japanese consumers.” The White House Staff and Office files of Laura Tyson in the Council of Economic Advisors contain lists, memoranda, charts, graphs, cables, correspondence, speeches, reports, papers, talking points, newspaper articles, publications, notes, and briefing papers. Lists principally concern Japanese representatives from the EPA (Economic Planning Agency) slated to meet with their American counterparts in the CEA. A number of unclassified cables from the American Embassy in Tokyo relate to economic and financial developments in Japan in September 1993. “U.S. and Japan: Economic Relations” is the title of a lengthy background paper published in February 1993. The text of a key speech (“U.S.-Japan Relations: A Strategic Framework”) given by Senator Bill Bradley on March 22, 1994, runs to eight pages and ends by referring to a “trade policy that works in synch with the ongoing transformation of Japan’s economy and politics to achieve results that conform to both our [i.e. American and Japanese] interests.” A publication that stands out in the collection, United States-Japan Trade: White Paper, 1993 was published by The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.