Donald Trump Is Ready to Approve a Initial Trade Deal with Japan

On Monday, President Donald Trump told the Congress that the United States and Japan are ready to enter into a restricted trade agreement that will reduce some of the bilateral tariffs and set conditions for digital commerce, Wall Street Journal reports.

Trump and his Japanese counterpart, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, previously announced at the G7 summit in France in August that they had reached an agreement, in principle, to reduce bilateral agricultural and industrial customs tariffs.

The two sides said earlier that they expect to sign the agreement at the UN General Assembly in New York this month. By sending a formal notice to the Congress, Donald Trump can now move forward with the signing of this agreement. However, the letter to the Congress did not specify the terms of the transaction.

A deal in which Tokyo lowers its agricultural tariffs may allow American farmers to compete better in Japan.

US agricultural exporters have been at a disadvantage in the Japanese market since Trump withdrew from the agreement known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which was concluded between 12 member states.

President Trump has confirmed that Washington has reached a trade agreement with Tokyo, but declined to assure Japan that, if necessary, it will not impose high tariffs on vital Japanese car exports to the United States.