Abe, Obama aiming for TPP deal by month-end

WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed last week to aim at reaching a broad accord in talks related to the Trans-Pacific Partnership multilateral free trade negotiations by the time the two leaders meet in late April, sources said Wednesday.

They confirmed the target at their meeting held in The Hague on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit, according to the sources. Obama is slated to visit Japan in late April for a meeting with Abe.

Based on the agreement, Abe and Obama instructed working-level officials through ministers in charge to accelerate bilateral discussions to help strike a TPP deal between Japan, the United States and 10 other countries taking part in the free trade negotiations.

Senior negotiator Hiroshi Oe and acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler held TPP-related bilateral talks in Washington for two days through Friday. But the two sides remained apart over thorny issues, including Japan’s tariffs on rice and four other key agricultural product categories.

The two countries kicked off another round of working-level talks in Washington on Monday, with Japan being represented by Takeo Mori, ambassador for economic diplomacy, and the United States by Cutler.

If progress is made in working-level discussions, TPP minister Akira Amari and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman are likely to hold detailed talks.

But it is unclear if the two countries can reach an agreement as they remain sharply divided over the farm products. Tokyo hopes to maintain tariffs on these while Washington is sticking to the TPP’s principle of blanket tariff elimination.

Auto talks extended

Japan and the United States agreed to extend their auto trade talks by one day, sources said.

The bilateral talks, originally scheduled to end Tuesday, are part of the broader Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations involving Japan, the United States and 10 other countries.

The U.S. has been calling on Japan to ease regulations and safety standards to allow more auto imports.

The talks were being held by Takeo Mori, the ambassador for economic diplomacy, and acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler.

The two sides hope to find a compromise before President Barack Obama visits Japan late this month for a summit with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

On the TPP, the two countries also remain apart over the handling of Japanese tariffs on five key farm product categories, including rice and beef and pork.

Abe and Obama, when they met March 25 in the Netherlands, agreed to accelerate discussions toward concluding the TPP talks.

Source: Jiji