US - Japan Trade Deal Could Happen Quickly

The United States may seek a quick trade deal with Japan focused on gaining the same access to agricultural markets as some of the country’s other trade partners, media outlets quoted USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue as saying Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump last week said he hopes to achieve a trade deal with Japan by the time he visits Tokyo in May, a Reuters report noted. A group of 88 U.S. companies and associations last week urged U.S. trade officials to take “swift action” to prevent U.S. agriculture from losing ground to the European Union and other Japanese trade partners, resulting from the United States’ decision in 2017 to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Trump, who is unhappy with Japan’s trade surplus with the United States, has pressed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to have Japanese automakers produce more vehicles in the United States, Reuters said. Perdue said a quick deal narrowly focused on agricultural trade could be expanded and fleshed out over time, according to the Reuters report.