The US Trade Representative issued a statement regarding the meeting of USTR Robert Lighthizer and Japan’s Economic Revitalization Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on April 15-16 in Washington.
In the statement, it’s noted that US and Japan “discussed trade issues involving goods, including agriculture, as well as the need to establish high standards in the area of digital trade”. Also, US raised its “very large trade deficit with Japan – $67.6 billion in goods in 2018.” Both sides agreed to meet again in the “near future to continue these talks”.
Motegi said yesterday that no agreement has been made. But he hoped to reach a “good result” on the talks “at an early stage.” There will be further discussions next week before the US-Japan summit. Meanwhile, discussions regarding exchange rate would be left to finance ministers.
