The United States and Japan have agreed to begin negotiations on a bilateral free-trade agreement, reducing the prospect that Washington might impose tariffs against another trading partner.
“We've agreed today to start trade negotiations between the United States and Japan,” U.S. President Donald Trump said at a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
“This was something that for various reasons over the years Japan was unwilling to do and now they are willing to do. So we're very happy about that, and I'm sure that we will come to a satisfactory conclusion,” Trump added.
The White House released a statement after the meeting, stating the two countries would enter into talks after completing necessary domestic procedures for a bilateral trade agreement on goods and other key areas, including services.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer called it a “very important step” in expanding U.S.-Japan relations. He told reporters that the U.S. and Japan were aiming to approve a full free-trade agreement soon. Lighthizer said he would talk to Congress on Thursday about seeking authority for the president to negotiate the agreement, under the “fast track” trade authority law.
Lighthizer said he expected the negotiations to include the goal of reaching an “early harvest” on reducing tariffs and other trade barriers.
Tokyo had been reluctant to commit to a bilateral free-trade pact and had hoped that Washington would consider returning to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a broader regional trade agreement championed by the Obama administration that Trump pulled out of in January 2017, siting it wasn't in the best interest of the U.S..
Japanese officials have expressed concern Trump might pressure Tokyo to open up its politically sensitive farm market. They also are wary Trump might demand a reduction in Japanese auto imports or impose high tariffs on autos and auto parts, which would be detrimental to Japan's export-reliant economy.
Trump is expressing confidence the two sides will reach an agreement.
“We're going to have a really great relationship, better than ever before on trade,” he said. “It can only be better for the United States because it couldn't get any worse because of what's happened over the years.”
美国和日本已同意开始就双边自由贸易协定进行谈判，这减少了华盛顿可能对另一个贸易伙伴征收关税的可能性。
美国总统特朗普在联合国大会期间与日本首相安倍晋三在纽约举行的峰会上说，“我们今天已经同意开始就美日之间的贸易进行谈判。”
特朗普补充说，“多年来日本处于各种原因不愿意这样做，现在他们愿意了，我们对此感到非常高兴，我相信我们会得到一个圆满的结果。“
白宫在会后发表声明，表示两国将在完成各自国内有关商品和其他关键领域（包括服务）双边贸易协定的必要程序后进行谈判。
美国贸易代表莱希泽称这是扩大美日关系的“非常重要的一步”。他告诉记者说，美国和日本的目标是尽快批准一项完整的自由贸易协定。 莱希泽表示，他将于周四与国会讨论根据“快速通道”贸易授权法，寻求授权总统进行协议谈判。
莱希泽表示，他预计谈判将包括在降低关税和其他贸易壁垒方面实现“早期收获”的目标。
东京一直不愿承诺签署双边自由贸易协定，并希望华盛顿能够考虑重返跨太平洋伙伴关系协定，这是前政府奥巴马所倡导的更广泛的区域贸易协定，特朗普总统认为该协议没有让美国得到最大利益而于2017年1月撤出相关谈判。
日本官员表示担心特朗普可能会迫使东京开放其政治敏感的农产品市场。他们也对特朗普可能要求减少日本汽车进口或对日本汽车和汽车零部件征收高关税较为谨慎，这将对日本的出口型经济产生不利影响。
特朗普总统则表示相信双方将达成协议。他说：“我们的关系将非常好，比以往任何时候都更好。” 他说，“对美国来说这只会更好，因为这么多年来的发展不可能让事情变得更糟了。”