Lighthizer hopes for Japan-U.S. deal in next few months

June 19, 2019

Washington--U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said at a Senate hearing Tuesday that he hopes to have an agreement in the current Japan-U.S. trade negotiations "in the next few months."

"The Japanese are fully engaged. They understand what needs to be done. We've been quite clear about it," he said of the current state of the negotiations, which began in mid-April. "My hope is that, in the next few months, we'll have an agreement on it."

In the hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, Lighthizer also suggested that he hopes to prioritize talks on lowering tariffs on agricultural products before discussing a more comprehensive deal.

"What I have proposed doing is to try to take care of a couple of the issues, particularly agriculture, early," he said.

In stressing the need for a quick resolution to the bilateral trade talks, Lighthizer voiced concern that his country is being left at a disadvantage against Canada and other members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership multilateral free trade agreement in competition over exports to Japan.

"We're in a situation where if we don't make headway quickly, people will lose customers and never get that market share back," he said.

"One of the biggest beneficiaries of our actions to Japan will be the beef industry," he said. "We want to get more of (U.S. beef) to Japan."

On the other hand, Lighthizer was cautious about opening up the U.S. industrial products market. He said that joining the TPP would have been "the end of a lot of our manufacturing."

Washington is resisting Japan's demands that the United States abolish or reduce tariffs on vehicles and auto parts to levels promised under the TPP, before it withdrew from the framework in early 2017.

Lighthizer and Japanese economic revitalization minister Toshimitsu Motegi, who is in charge of the bilateral trade talks, confirmed last week that they are aiming to announce the results of their talks at an early date after this summer's House of Councillors election in Japan.

The two sides will work to hold another ministerial trade session before a Group of 20 summit takes place in the western Japan city of Osaka on June 28-29. Jiji Press