Southland trade firms breathe easier as U.S.-Japan flap ends.

The Japan-U.S. trade agreement reached June 28 alleviated concerns in the Southland that U.S. sanctions on Japanese automobiles could have escalated into a broader trade war with widespread effects.

And the crisis in general had little direct impact on at least a sampling of Southland companies, outside of the auto industry, that do business with Japan.

"Everybody was tense, but it hasn't changed our relationships with our customers," said Roberta Best, CEO of Romac Export Management Corp., an L.A.-based company that helps facilitate export transactions of consumer goods, such as apparel and furniture.

The United States had been threatening to place 100 percent tariffs on 13 Japanese luxury car models unless Japan agreed to substantially open up its market to American-made cars and parts.

The two nations reached an 11th hour agreement, in which Japan agreed to take steps to increase the number of dealers selling non-Japanese cars, soften regulations on importing repair parts and increase Japanese car makers' production in the U.S.

The sanctions could have had a domino effect, said Guy Fox, vice president of Global Transportation Services Inc., a Redondo Beach-based customs broker and freight forwarder.

They would have led to less cargo passing through the L.A. Customs District. Thus, the jobs of many of those in trade-related fields, such as stevedores and truckers, could have been in jeopardy, Fox said.

Now that a deal has been reached, these workers "have taken a deep breath," he said.

Meanwhile, officials at some Japanese electronics subsidiaries located in Southern California had been concerned that sanctions against Japanese cars could ultimately spill over into their industry, said Susan Kohn Ross, a trade attorney at the L.A.-based law firm Ross & Associates.

These companies are relieved now not to have to deal with this issue, Ross said.

Romac's Best said she had been concerned that if the sanctions were not averted, they could have resulted in some emotional or psychological problems between Japanese and American companies.

Some of the Japanese could have started looking at Americans as the "bad guys." Thus, they might not have been as friendly in their dealings with American companies, Best explained.

However, everything should be all right now, she said.

But representatives at some Southland companies that deal with Japan said they hadn't even been concerned about the possibility of sanctions.

"Nothing changed, nothing happened. We had business as usual," said Ed Garber, president of Ed Garber Associates, a downtown L.A.-based export trading company, which is paid by exporters to facilitate their transactions.

"Every person I know ... figured there would be a deal made," Garber said.

"It didn't affect us so much," added Greg Lampert, president of downtown L.A.-based International Asset Group, a firm that provides consulting to Japanese financial institutions.

"These things have been going on like this for years and years and years," Lampert added, referring to trade disputes between the U.S. and Japan. "One industry or another is always being targeted."

"Essentially, it was business as usual" with the Japanese in the furniture industry while the sanctions were pending, said Stephen Wise, president of California Furniture Exports, a Hollywood-based furniture trading company.