[CTC] Japan Intensifies Consultations In Effort To Join TPP Negotiations By July

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Daily News
Japan Intensifies Consultations In Effort To Join TPP Negotiations By  
July
Posted: April 3, 2013
Japan is intensifying its engagement with current Trans-Pacific  
Partnership (TPP) members in an attempt to wrap up these consultations  
later this month and join the ongoing TPP negotiations as soon as  
July, according to a Japanese government official. TPP members have  
not announced a July round, but it is clearly under consideration.

In an interview with Inside U.S. Trade, the official said the Japanese  
government is aware of the fact that TPP members view the April 20-21  
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting of trade ministers as  
a possible forum for announcing that all TPP members agree to let  
Japan join the ongoing negotiations.

But he said it "would be nice" if TPP members could reach a group  
decision even before that meeting takes place, although the prospects  
for such swift results is unclear. The official conceded that Japan  
continues to hold consultations with the U.S., Australia and New  
Zealand, and signaled that Japanese efforts are focused on convincing  
these members.

The official said the support of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and  
Singapore is almost guaranteed. Japan hopes to secure the formal  
support of four other TPP members -- Chile, Peru, Canada and Mexico --  
this week in meetings taking place in those four countries, he said.

Japanese officials were scheduled to hold consultations yesterday  
(April 2) in Chile and in Peru today (April 3), but the visit is  
primarily aimed at confirming support from these countries, which are  
not expected to demand any actions by Japan as a condition for  
supporting Japan joining, he said. Officials from Japan's Ministry of  
Foreign Affairs will also meet concurrently tomorrow (April 4) with  
their counterparts in Mexico and Canada.

Canada and Mexico are also not expected to complicate Japan's request  
to participate, the official said. Canada is already involved in  
bilateral trade negotiations with Japan, and Canadian Trade Minister  
Ed Fast will visit Tokyo on April 10 to discuss the bilateral trade  
talks as well as Japan's possible participation in TPP, the official  
said.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto will travel to Tokyo from April  
7-10 to meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The two leaders are  
expected to discuss Japan's TPP participation, which will be the first  
in-person meeting Abe will have with a current TPP member after he  
announced on March 15 his intention to join the TPP talks, observers  
said.

Assuming no unexpected complications arise, that leaves the U.S.,  
Australia and New Zealand. Japanese officials traveled to Australia  
and New Zealand late last month, but those meetings did not reach a  
conclusive result, in that neither country is yet ready to formally  
support Japan joining the talks and more talks are needed, the  
official said.

Both Australia and New Zealand have a keen interest in gaining wider  
market access to sensitive Japanese agricultural sectors, including  
for dairy products and beef. Although talks with New Zealand continue,  
that country has clearly signaled that it is interested in  
incorporating Japan into the ongoing talks if possible.

For instance, New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser last week said he  
hoped that current TPP members would formally agree to let Japan join  
the TPP talks by the time of the April APEC summit, and said he  
expected all TPP members to respond favorably to Japan's bid to join  
the talks (Inside U.S. Trade, March 29).

When it comes to the U.S., Japan continues to discuss issues related  
to market access for U.S. automotive exports and market access for  
U.S. insurance companies. The official said the consultations are not  
over but added that Tokyo is trying to get approval from the U.S. as  
soon as possible.

The Japanese minister in charge of TPP affairs, Akira Amari,  
informally met with other Japanese ministers on March 27 to "exchange  
opinions" on TPP, the official said. However, one Japanese industry  
source said this meeting was meant to discuss how to accelerate the  
process of joining the TPP talks.

This source said Abe is frustrated that Japan is not making swifter  
progress in joining the talks.

One of the main issues driving Japan's desire to wrap up consultations  
as quickly as possible is the fact that even if all TPP members agree  
to let Japan join, the Obama administration is then expected to launch  
a 90-day period of consultations with Congress and the private sector  
before actually engaging with Japan in the TPP talks.

If this 90-day process commences by late April -- perhaps after the  
April 20-21 APEC ministers' summit -- there is a chance that Japan  
could participate in a possible July round of talks.

In a related development, the Japanese government is expected this  
week to fully establish its TPP negotiating team, Chief Cabinet  
Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in an April 2 press briefing. Deputy  
Minister for Foreign Affairs Koji Tsuroka is expected to be named in  
coming days as Japan's chief TPP negotiator, sources said.

The TPP team will also include a chief domestic coordinator as its  
other main leader. This position is expected to manage the domestic  
political issues among the various ministries in areas such as  
agriculture and insurance that could arise during the course of the  
negotiations.

This position is expected to go to Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary  
Toyonari Sasaki, sources said.

Abe has moved to create this separate TPP division in order to bypass  
the bureaucratic and political gridlock that may otherwise arise among  
various Japanese ministries. For example, the Ministry of Agriculture,  
Forestry and Fisheries is likely to take a very defensive approach to  
negotiating market access (Inside U.S. Trade, March 22).

TPP negotiators are expected to report more directly to cabinet-level  
officials. The chief negotiator will report to Amari, the TPP  
minister, and the chief domestic coordinator will report to Suga, the  
chief cabinet secretary. Amari and Suga will subsequently report  
directly to the prime minister on the progress of the negotiations,  
the Japanese government official said.
  
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