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U.S. Announces Trade Deal Reached with Japan

Aug. 25, 2019 —  On the margins of the G-7 meeting, President Trump announced that the United States and Japan have agreed “in principle” to a bilateral trade deal involving agriculture and digital products. The deal would focus on lowering tariffs on a wide range of agricultural commodities such as beef, pork, ethanol, DDGs, and soymeal. This agreement will aid exporters who seek to compete with exports from other countries who have partnered with Japan through finalized free trade agreements (FTA). These agreements, including the EU-Japan FTA and the CPTPP (the successor to the Trans-Pacific Partnership TPP following U.S. withdrawal), lower Japan’s tariffs on imports from several countries, placing U.S. exporters at a disadvantage in Japan. The United States and Japan continue to engage in negotiations toward a new bilateral FTA. As the fourth-largest U.S. trade partner, Japan is a longstanding U.S. priority for trade negotiations.