U.S. to Enter Trade Talks with Japan in Jan. at Earliest

October 17, 2018

Washington- The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump notified Congress on Tuesday that it plans to start negotiations with Japan on a bilateral trade agreement.

The talks between Japan and the United States on concluding a trade agreement on goods, or TAG, are expected to begin in mid-January at the earliest.

The Trump administration is expected to call on Japan to open its automobile and agricultural product markets further in a bid to reduce the huge U.S. trade deficit with Japan, sources familiar with the situation said.

In his notification to Congress regarding trade with Japan, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that "U.S. exporters in key sectors such as automobiles, agriculture, and services have been challenged by multiple tariff and nontariff barriers for decades."

He underlined the need to work out measures to correct "chronic U.S. trade imbalances with Japan" through the trade negotiations.

In 2017, U.S. merchandise trade deficit with Japan totaled some 69 billion dollars, the third largest after those with China and Mexico.

"Our aim in negotiations with Japan is to address both tariff and nontariff barriers and to achieve fairer, more balanced trade," Lighthizer said.

His stance conflicts with the Japanese government's position that the TAG negotiations will mainly focus on tariff issues.

The U.S. government has shown great interest in reducing nontariff trade barriers in Japan, including customs procedures and financial services, in the bilateral trade negotiations, the sources said.

By law, the U.S. administration needs to notify Congress of its intention to hold negotiations with a trading partner 90 days before launching the talks. It is expected to present specific objectives of the coming negotiations with Japan 30 days before initiating the talks.

Also on Tuesday, the Trump administration notified Congress of its intentions to start negotiations on trade agreements with the European Union and Britain. Jiji Press