[CTC] Lighthizer to lead trade talks with Japan in July

[Arthur Stamoulis]

INSIDE US TRADE
Lighthizer to lead trade talks with Japan in July 

June 08, 2018 
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will lead trade talks with Japan’s Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in July, according to Japan’s Foreign Ministry.

President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to prepare for the July meeting when they met at the White House on June 7, according to an informal translation of a Foreign Ministry statement <https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/na/na1/us/page4_004113.html>.

The announcement comes amid U.S. trade actions that have roiled allies and foreign industry groups.

Japan has not received an exemption from the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum despite being a major security partner of the U.S.

Japan’s automakers have also condemned the Trump administration’s decision to initiate a Section 232 probe into the national security implications of auto and auto parts imports.

The chairman of the Japanese Automobile Makers Association, Akio Toyoda, said in a June 8 statement <http://www.jama.org/jama-chairman-statement-on-section-232-investigation/> that the industry group was “gravely concerned” about the investigation, fearing it will create “uncertainty” among consumers and in the industry. Toyoda contends that imported vehicles do not represent a national security threat to the United States.

“Automobiles are sold to consumers on the basis of their own choices, and it is consumers themselves who would be penalized, through increased vehicle prices and reduced model options, in the event that trade-restrictive measures were to be implemented as a result of this initiative,” Toyoda said. “Moreover, the business plans of automobile and auto parts manufacturers as well as imported vehicle dealers could be seriously disrupted, with potentially adverse impacts on the U.S. economy and jobs.”

JAMA released data this week showing its member companies directly employed a record-high 92,710 U.S. workers in 2017. JAMA members operate 24 manufacturing plants and 44 research and development centers in 19 states, according to Toyoda. Of the nearly 3.8 million vehicles member companies produced in the U.S., more than 420,000 were exported in 2017, he said.

The Association of Global Automakers has come out against the autos 232 probe as well, as has to the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association. The American Automotive Policy Council, which represents GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler, has not taken a clear cut position on the investigation.

Ahead of Lighthizer’s planned July trip, Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney will lead a trade mission to Japan from June 11 to June 15. Industry and state government officials will join him, according to USDA.

Prying open Japan’s politically sensitive agricultural markets to U.S. exports was a goal of the Obama administration’s during the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. Japanese domestic farm groups opposed the deal because it feared greater competition from foreign exports.

Lighthizer and several Republican lawmakers have expressed interest in a free trade agreement with Japan, but Abe’s government so far has balked at the idea of beginning formal negotiations for a deal. Abe has encouraged Trump to rejoin TPP, with little success. Vice President Mike Pence and Japan’s deputy prime minister Taro Aso lead a U.S.-Japan Economic Dialogue that Pence has said could lead to talks for a free trade agreement.
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