1st Meeting of Japan-U.S. New Trade Talks Set for Aug. 9

July 31, 2018

Tokyo- The Japanese and U.S. governments will hold the first meeting of their new "free, fair and reciprocal" trade dialogue, dubbed FFR talks, on Aug. 9 in Washington, the Japanese government said Tuesday.

"We want to hold constructive discussions in order to expand free trade," Economic Revitalization Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said at a press conference, announcing the schedule. He will represent Japan in the trade talks, which are aimed at boosting bilateral trade and investment.

The focal point of the dialogue is expected to be issues related to auto and agriculture trade, with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump criticizing the U.S. trade deficit with Japan, sources familiar with the situation said.

In 2017, the United States suffered a deficit of some 69 billion dollars in trade with Japan.

After withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership multilateral free trade framework in January 2017 in line with Trump's policy, the United States has been prioritizing bilateral trade talks.

Against this background, the Trump administration is likely to urge Japan to launch negotiations on concluding a bilateral free trade agreement, the sources said.

Japan is reluctant to hold FTA negotiations with the United States, however. Agricultural groups, for example, are concerned about the possibility of increased U.S. pressure on Japan to import more American beef.

"The United States is likely to demand that Japan liberalize its agriculture market further than the levels of tariff abolition and cuts agreed under the TPP," said a ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker representing the interests of farm groups.

Reflecting those concerns, the Japanese government is expected to reiterate its claim in the upcoming trade talks that the United States returning to the TPP would be the best option for both countries, a Japanese government source said. The revised TPP was signed in March by Japan and 10 other countries.

Still, the Trump administration may demand the start of FTA negotiations or a further opening of Japan's farm market by threatening to impose additional tariffs on imports of Japanese vehicles and auto parts, critics said.

At their summit in April, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Trump decided to establish the FFR dialogue framework. The Trump administration's negotiation team will be led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Jiji Press