Japanese media: The US-Japan trade talks have stalled and it is difficult to rebuild the cooperation framework

According to Japan's "Asahi Shimbun" reported on November 18, the Japanese and US governments decided to build a new economic consultation framework on the 17th, because the United States is more difficult to return to the "Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP)" and the two countries need to face other countries that are active in economic and diplomatic activities, and the situation is very serious for Japan and the United States, which is on the defensive. The Japan-U.S. trade talks have virtually stalled, and Japan needs to reformulate its trade strategy.

On the 12th of this month, U.S. Trade Representative Dai Qi held talks with Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Koichi Hagida and others. After the talks, Dai Stressed the Significance of the Japan-U.S. Trade Cooperation Framework that close cooperation between the United States and Japan will support the development of the Biden administration's "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework" and also help build sustainable, inclusive, and competitive trade policies. Keywords such as "sustainable" and "inclusive" have appeared frequently recently, which is a change made by the Biden administration based on a series of actions made by former US President Trump against free trade and withdrawal from the TPP.

According to the report, the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework" is a concept proposed by US President Biden at the East Asia Summit on October 27 this year, and he hopes to explore the road to its construction with friendly countries. The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which aims to cover trade facilitation, the digital economy, cutting-edge technology standard-setting, supply chains, decarbonization, and many other areas, has yet to make real progress. In the face of difficulties in returning to the TPP, the United States wants to remain engaged in indo-Pacific affairs despite limited effects, which is the real thinking of the Biden administration.

The report pointed out that the new Japan-US trade cooperation framework was also born. A "framework" is an acceptable form that avoids over-asserting opposing points, but does not have the same mandatory effect as a "treaty" and cannot bind member states by rules.

The Japanese government believes that the framework is in line with the idea of the United States actively participating in the affairs of the Indo-Pacific region, and the United States not only requires allies to join the framework it has built, but also hopes that allies will participate in the framework construction process with them.

However, the outlook for Japan is uncertain. Japan relies on the United States for security, and if bilateral trade negotiations are conducted, it is difficult for Japan to take into account the "face" of the United States from time to time. However, after the United States imposed tariff sanctions, Japan had to respond in the form of bilateral negotiations.

After Biden took office, Japan roughly expected that the "second phase" negotiations of the Japan-US trade agreement, which came into effect in January 2020, would come to a standstill, which is not good news for the Japanese auto industry because it cannot enjoy the dividends of trade liberalization.

In response to the rapid rise of other countries, Japan hopes to build a multilateral trade order by pushing the United States back into the TPP and strengthening its relationship by advancing the Japan-U.S. free trade agreement process, but these aspirations are difficult to achieve today.

According to the "Japan Economic News" reported on November 16, the japanese and Us governments agreed to start negotiations on the 15th to solve the problem of additional tariffs on steel and aluminum products imported from Japan by the United States. Japan's Minister of Economy and Industry Koichi Haginota and U.S. Commerce Minister Raimondo held talks in Tokyo. Due to the cautious view in the United States, the above tariffs may not be completely withdrawn.

Raymondo said that "the principle of continuing to engage with Japan will not waver and is willing to promote cooperative relations." She also held talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroichi Matsuno.

The report pointed out that the Biden administration of the United States began to solve the problem of tariffs on steel and aluminum products with Japan in order to repair relations with allies.

In terms of trade protectionist attitudes, the Biden government and the previous Trump administration are almost the same, but they are very different from Japan, which advocates free trade. Negotiations with Japan did not begin until 10 months after the Biden administration came to power, also because the unions that underpinned it strongly opposed the removal of tariffs.

Source: Reference News Network