【News】 Shinzo Abe and Donald Trump agree to open two-way talks probably this summer at Japan-U.S. summit meeting (Feb. 12, 2017)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in their first official meeting held at Washington, D.C. on February 11 to newly set up a bilateral framework of “an economic dialogue” to discuss trade, investment and other related issues in order to strengthen economic ties between the two countries.

The two-way framework of “an economic dialogue” was proposed by Prime Minister Abe, which will be led by Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.

A list of major agendas at the bilateral economic dialogue is expected to include macro-economic policy including financial and monetary affairs, cooperation in infrastructure and energy projects, and trade promotion between the two countries.

Some officials of Abe’s administration suppose that the economic dialogue is likely to begin around this summer.

The two-way trade talks will focus on an automobile trade imbalance between Japan and U.S., which U.S. President Donald Trump claimed “unfair.”

The economic dialogue might turn to be a negotiation table for the Japan-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.

A couple of U.S. farm groups have already expressed their views demanding liberalization of Japanese markets for their products, aiming at putting a farm trade issue into a list of the agendas for the two-way talks with Japan.

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