President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shake hands before a bilateral meeting at the Akasaka Palace, Monday, Nov. 6, 2017. Photo courtesy of jp.usembassy.gov
WASHINGTON, April 27 (NNN-KYODO) – U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he thinks it is possible the United States and Japan may strike a trade agreement by the time he travels to Japan in late May.
In a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House, the start of which was open to the media, Trump said he wants Japan to get rid of what he called “massive” tariffs on American agricultural products.
Trump also said he and Abe are working “very closely” together in international efforts to denuclearize North Korea, and that bilateral coordination is “going very well” to that end.
Abe said he is very happy to welcome Trump and first lady Melania Trump as the first state guests to visit Japan in the nation’s new Reiwa era starting May 1 upon the enthronement of the new emperor.
After the May 25-28 trip for a meeting with Crown Prince Naruhito — who is set to accede to the throne on May 1 following the abdication of his father Emperor Akihito the previous day — Trump plans to visit Japan in June for a Group of 20 summit in Osaka.
Following Friday’s one-on-one talks and an expanded session with aides, the leaders and their wives will have dinner to celebrate the first lady’s birthday. The leaders will then play golf on Saturday.
The meeting came after the two governments launched negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement last week in what the Trump administration sees as a means to reduce the hefty U.S. trade deficit with Japan.
“It’s moving along very nicely,” Trump said, in reference to new trade negotiations. “I think it can go very quickly.”
The two sides have started talks to cut tariffs on agricultural and industrial goods, including automobiles. They have agreed to begin talks on digital trade, an area including e-commerce, data transfers and music distribution services, at an appropriate time.
In the wake of the breakdown of the second U.S.-North Korea summit in February, Abe and Trump are believed to have coordinated future actions, including consultation with South Korea, toward achieving the final and fully verified denuclearization of Pyongyang.
They are likely to have affirmed they will cooperate closely in attempting to secure progress on the issue of North Korea’s abduction of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s.
They were believed to have discussed the next steps toward maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, including digital connectivity and infrastructure building, amid China’s rising clout and assertiveness in the region.
