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KEIRETSU.

Japanese keiretsu in the late 20th century are descendants of the
pre-war zaibatsu, which were characterized by close, long-term
business relationships between its members. Keiretsu firms are linked
to one another through a network of formal and informal ties including
cross share holdings, time honored buyer-supplier arrangements,
interlocking corporate directorates, interchange of personnel between
member firms, and the sharing of information concerning product
development and distribution. While keiretsu do have some positive
aspects such as cost reduction and quality control, stemming from
long-term relationships, their collusive and exclusionary nature act
as an impediment to foreign market access. Keiretsu typically include
a bank, trading company, manufacturing firms and often an insurance
company.  See also Codes of Conduct; Industry Policy; Managed Trade;
Market Access; and Restricted Business Practice.


KENNEDY ROUND.

The popular name for the sixth and at that time the most ambitious
"Round" of trade negotiations under the aegis of GATT.  The Kennedy
Round, which lasted from 1963 to 1967, yielded agreements reducing
prevailing tariff levels maintained by developed countries on
industrial products by about one-third, an "Anti-Dumping Code," and a
short-lived International Wheat Agreement which was intended to
stabilize world wheat prices.  (The Wheat Agreement replaced the
latest in a series of International Wheat Agreements going back to the
1950s.)  See also Anti-Dumping Code; General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade; Round; Special and Differential Treatment; Tariff; and Trade
Expansion Act of 1962.


KEY CURRENCIES.

See Currency; and Reserve Currency.


KYOTO CONVENTION.

The objective of the "International Convention on the Simplification
and Harmonization of Customs Procedures," also known as the Kyoto
Convention, as reflected in its preamble, is the development of
compatible national customs procedures in different countries as a
means of encouraging and facilitating international trade.  See also
Customs; Customs Harmonization; and Harmonization.