At the press conference held on March 15, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga touched upon the Japan-U.S. economic dialogue that is to start this April between Japanese Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, saying “We are most interested in constructive talks with U.S. administration so that both of the two countries can have mutual benefits by developing “win-win relationships.”
The Chief Cabinet Secretary responded to remarks made on March 14 by Robert Lighthizer, the United States Trade Representative-designate nominated by U.S. Trump’s administration, which suggested that the U.S. administration will demand Japan to further liberalize its market of farm products in future bilateral negotiations by saying “Japan will be a primary target.”
USTR-designate Robert Lighthizer also emphasized that he will seek for a higher level of trade liberalization than that of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact.
“At the Japan-U.S. summit meeting held this February, U.S. President Donald Trump did not make any such requests regarding agricultural trades to our Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at the press conference.