The Reagan Administration fought for and received what were known as "voluntary export restraints."

The industry indeed opposes renewal of steel-specific voluntary export restraints, as some have proposed.

After three years of voluntary export restraints, seven Japanese firms located plants in the United States by 1980.

In some cases, the importing countries request exporting countries to impose voluntary export restraints.

Despite voluntary export restraints by the Japanese starting in 1981, the industry has steadily lost ground against Japanese auto makers.

As a result of voluntary export restraints imposed in 1981, these manufacturers were limited to a number of vehicles they could export.

For instance, rather than restrict imports of cars from Japan in the 1980's, the United States let the Japanese ministry institute voluntary export restraints, he said.

One of the first things the Reagan administration did upon taking office in 1981 was to press Japan to agree to so-called voluntary export restraints by its carmakers.

In 1971 he vigorously attcked the Nixon administration's threat to impose new restrictions on American textile imports unless Asian countries agreed to voluntary export restraints.

The report welcomed "progress" made by the United States in eliminating "voluntary export restraints" it has forced on such Japanese products as machine tools, automobiles, steel and textiles.

China has indicated its readiness to consider possible voluntary export restraints to curb the explosive growth in Chinese textile exports to Japan, government sources were quoted as saying Friday.

It is well known that there has been widespread acceptance of restrictive trade measures falling outside the formal GATT rules, e.g. voluntary export restraints and anti-dumping legislation.

Mr. McElwaine mobilized the powerful lobbying forces of the association against the so-called voluntary export restraints set by the Japanese as a result of American pressure in 1981.

In 1981, Japan agreed to Voluntary Export Restraints in order to preempt protectionism measures that the US may have taken, where it be tariffs or import quotas.

The Japanese have raised their share even while selling cars to Americans under voluntary export restraints established by the Japanese Government eight years ago, under pressure from the United States.

The Japanese government imposed voluntary export restraints for the U.S. market, so it was more profitable for automakers to export more expensive cars to the U.S.

In the early 1980's, the United States and Japan agreed to what were called voluntary export restraints that limited the number of cars Japan could ship to the United States.

In Detroit, Owen Bieber, president of the United Automobile Workers, said Japan's voluntary export restraints did not go far enough, and he called on Congress to mandate tougher quotas.

A Japanese thermometer company president tries to stop the United States from putting tariffs on Japanese thermometers, despite the pleadings of other Japanese companies to agree to voluntary export restraints.

For the first time since voluntary export restraints were adopted, in 1981, the Japanese auto manufacturers failed to ship their annual quota of import cars, 2.3 million vehicles for the fiscal year ended March 31.

In the early 1980's, the United States auto industry and organized labor argued that cars and trucks should be built here if they are sold here, prompting the Japanese to adopt voluntary export restraints.

The opportunity for Japanese manufacturers to export more expensive models had arisen with the 1980s voluntary export restraints, negotiated by the Japanese government and U.S. trade representatives, restricting mainstream car sales.

A sector which is under pressure from imports may seek voluntary export restraints on the part of the foreign suppliers (a wide range of Japanese exports to the United States have been affected by such agreements).

Several academic studies now indicate that protectionist voluntary export restraints on specific exporting countries are indeed leaky buckets, permitting avoidance through shifting to third-market exporters and substituting products not covered by the restraints.

But the continuation of the voluntary export restraints at 1.65 million cars for the fiscal year that begins in April is not expected to please United States auto makers, some of whose executives have been seeking tighter limits.