The real short version is that Japan was outcompeting the US economically in the 80s and the US sought a way to kneecap Japanese competitiveness.
One of the reasons the Japanese economy was so competitive was because the Yen was cheap relative to the Dollar, meaning that a Japanese car or radio was usually cheaper to Americans than an equivalent American car or radio (in addition to often being better).
The Plaza Accords were a package of agreements that the US forced on Japan in which Japan promised to do things to raise the value of the Yen, which would make Japanese goods relatively more expensive. This was good for America, but terrible for the Japanese. In the same bundle of agreements was also the forced transfer of IP for things like microchips from major Japanese firms like Toshiba to US firms.
The consequences of the Plaza Accords (along with some questionable Japanese handling of said consequences) led to the Japanese economy stagnating for decades.
If you've been paying attention to Trump's trade war bullshit, you'll probably find the above very familiar because it's what he tried to push on China.
can you explain the plaza accords for japan real fast? wikipedia uses big words and I dont get it
The real short version is that Japan was outcompeting the US economically in the 80s and the US sought a way to kneecap Japanese competitiveness.
One of the reasons the Japanese economy was so competitive was because the Yen was cheap relative to the Dollar, meaning that a Japanese car or radio was usually cheaper to Americans than an equivalent American car or radio (in addition to often being better).
The Plaza Accords were a package of agreements that the US forced on Japan in which Japan promised to do things to raise the value of the Yen, which would make Japanese goods relatively more expensive. This was good for America, but terrible for the Japanese. In the same bundle of agreements was also the forced transfer of IP for things like microchips from major Japanese firms like Toshiba to US firms.
The consequences of the Plaza Accords (along with some questionable Japanese handling of said consequences) led to the Japanese economy stagnating for decades.
If you've been paying attention to Trump's trade war bullshit, you'll probably find the above very familiar because it's what he tried to push on China.
this is super interesting, where can I learn more about this kind of thing?