Deputy Prime Minister Aso to visit US in Sept.

August 29, 2017

TOKYO- Japanese Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso said Tuesday that he will visit the United States on Monday to hold talks with US Vice President Mike Pence.

The two will have an unofficial discussion on the second round of talks under the bilateral economic dialogue framework, which will be held as early as October.

At a press conference, Aso said substantial coordination will be needed in order to hold the economic dialogue meeting before the end of this year.

The administration of US President Donald Trump considers the trade deficit with Japan a problem and has expressed concern over Japan's safeguard measure that significantly increases import tariffs on frozen US beef, activated in August.

During the unofficial talks, Aso and Pence, who jointly chair the bilateral economic dialogue, are expected to discuss how many individual trade issues should be covered at the coming dialogue session.

Noting that Japan and the United States have decided on three main pillars for the economic dialogue, including trade and investment rules, Aso said he and Pence will discuss them at the unofficial meeting. Jiji Press