Japan, US to Negotiate on Trade Policies in September

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, after two days of discussions with Japanese Minister for Economic Revitalization Toshimitsu Motegi, said the two sides "had frank discussions" on their respective views on trade and investment. They will be exploring "ways to fill the gap between their positions and to promote trade between the United States and Japan," USTR said in an emailed statement.

The statement from USTR, dated Aug. 10, did not elaborate on where their disagreements are, but Japanese politicians have not been reticent to say that they feel the U.S. should rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and that they are not interested in a bilateral free trade agreement instead of the TPP (see 1805020047). USTR said there will be another round of ministerial-level meetings "sometime in September." The Japanese delegation did not issue a statement after the talks.