WASHINGTON. June 5: The Clinton administration threatened Friday to bring a trade case against Japan if it does not honour commitments to expand sales opportunities for American telecommunications companies, reports AP.

"We want .to ensure that Japan adopts pro-competitive market-opening reforms consistent with its obligations," US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky said in a statement.

Barshefsky said the United States would monitor Japan's implementation of a pledge last month to reduce fees currently charged US and other foreign telecommunications companies to connect with Japanese phone networks.

American Telephone and Telegraphs Corp, and other US

companies have long complained that Japan's Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Co charges high interconnection rates to stifle competitions in such areas as long distance service.

Barshefsky said that the administration expects the commitments made during Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's summit meeting with President Bill Clinton last month to translate into "substantial reductions," in NTTs interconnection charges.

If they don't occur, she said the United States would begin preparing a case to bring before the Geneva-based WTO.

Barshefsky said the administration also will watch Japan's implementation of a cocurrent restrictions have

been used to limit opportunities for US telecommunication companies to expand in the Japanese market.

The commitments were reached in a second year of negotiations between the two countries aimed at pushing Japan to further deregulate its economy and remove trade barriers.

Trade tensions between the world's two largest economies have been growing as the trade gap between them has increased. America's trade deficit with Japan hit dlrs 64 billion last year.

An initial set of deregulation agreements was reached a year ago before the annual economic summit in Birmingham. England.