US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that the initial stage of a new trade deal with Japan had been finalized, describing it as a “phenomenal” agreement.
Sitting next to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump said the leaders “formally announce the first stage of a phenomenal new trade agreement,” adding “this is a big chunk, but in the fairly near future we are going to have a lot more.”
Trump, using the threat of tariffs, has sought a comprehensive trade deal to scale back the US trade deficit with Japan and to benefit American farmers — a key base of political support.
Trump said that a trade agreement would be important to “reduce our chronic trade deficit.”
It would open new markets to “some $7 billion” in American products, he said, adding that US tariffs on Japanese goods would drop in return.
He said he hoped to sign a “very comprehensive deal” with Japan soon that means “really big dollars for our farmers and for our ranchers.”
Source: Guardian Newspaper.
