Motegi, Lighthizer finalize trade talks before pact signing

September 24, 2019

New York--Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Monday completed talks toward the signing of a new trade treaty between their countries.

The two met in New York for roughly an hour to discuss the contents of a joint statement to be made when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump sign the trade agreement, possibly on Wednesday.

"All negotiations ended today," Motegi told reporters after his meeting with Lighthizer. "We can hold a good ceremony on Wednesday."

During the discussion, the Japanese side is believed to have requested a confirmation in the joint statement that the United States will not impose additional tariffs on Japanese automobiles.

Motegi said the statement "would not say something worrying" about the auto tariffs, suggesting that the U.S. side showed some understanding to the Japanese request.

Abe and Trump are expected to sign the trade pact at their meeting, before domestic procedures to check the legality of the treaty's contents are finalized in the two countries.

"There is no major problem with the treaty, and we will aim for the signing on Wednesday as planned," a senior Japanese government official said.

The two countries will complete legal reviews of the final document within approximately a week, and the bilateral trade pact will officially be signed at a later date.

Japan and the United States reached a basic agreement over trade of key items such as agricultural and industrial goods at a summit meeting late last month and agreed to aim for signing the deal by late September.

Through the bilateral negotiations, Japan agreed to open up its agricultural market to levels afforded to member states of the multilateral Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, while the United States agreed to lower or abolish tariffs for a variety of goods such as industrial machinery. U.S. tariffs on Japanese automobiles are likely to remain intact, but open for abolition in the future. Jiji Press