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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tokyo and Washington are near an agreement on a major Pacific free-trade pact, a deal that would help advance President Barack Obama’s economic agenda and tighten ties between the two allies as they seek to [URL='http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-affirms-support-for-trade-agreements-in-asia-europe-1429292046']counter China’s growing influence.
“We think that an agreement between Japan and the U.S. is close, but we’re hoping that even more progress will be made,” Mr. Abe said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Monday. He added that he wants to share an understanding with Mr. Obama that the trade deal is “extremely beneficial for both countries” when he visits Washington on April 28. Mr. Abe said the two nations must use their leadership to conclude the 12-nation deal, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Early Tuesday in Tokyo, U.S. and Japanese negotiators concluded a marathon session and said they had significantly closed the remaining gaps between the two sides, a critical step for the broader TPP group to reach an agreement.
“It would be good if I could reach an agreement during my meeting with the president, but when you climb a mountain, the last step is always the hardest,” Mr. Abe said as the talks were under way. “Ultimately, what needs to happen is for both countries to make a political decision” to address these sensitive areas.
Japan’s chief negotiator, Akira Amari, said Tuesday that rice and autos were “major challenges,” but he said the talks were in the “final stage.”
“The progress that has been made thus far is substantial, and the leaders of the two countries will welcome it,” Mr. Amari said, without giving details of the progress. U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, his counterpart in the talks, said: “The gap between the two sides has been substantially narrowed, but continued work is needed.”
Mr. Abe spoke to the Journal ahead of his trip to the U.S., from April 26 to May 3. In addition to meetings with the president, Mr. Abe will give a speech to a joint session of Congress, the first time a Japanese prime minister will address U.S. lawmakers in more than five decades. In addition to the TPP, other major topics on Mr. Abe’s agenda include beefing up the bilateral security alliance with a new set of defense guidelines and expanding bilateral cooperation on regional security issues in Asia. The prime minister is also scheduled to visit Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Regarding the TPP, officials from the two nations say that on the negotiating table this week are Washington’s demand that Japan substantially increase imports of rice for consumer use and Tokyo’s demand that the U.S. eliminate immediately its 2.5% tariff on auto-parts imports.
Mr. Abe’s push for an early agreement gives a further boost to the trade pact, coming days after leaders in the U.S. Congress agreed to advance so-called fast-track legislation to ease ultimate passage of the trade bill. But the fast-track measure and the pact itself still face stiff resistance in Washington from lawmakers who remain skeptical of benefits for U.S. workers and the economy.
Tokyo and Washington tried to reach a deal on the TPP in April last year ahead of President Obama’s visit to Japan, holding similar marathon talks, but they failed to come to a final agreement. Japan is reluctant to commit to politically difficult concessions on rice without some assurance that Congress will ultimately approve the deal, while the U.S. side would like to get the concessions first and use them to persuade congressional skeptics.
For Mr. Abe, the TPP is a top priority in his agenda to restructure Japan’s economy and boost efficiency, particularly in areas like agriculture. Its success is essential at a time when his broader economic revival package, known as Abenomics, faces widespread skepticism and some big challenges two years after its launch.
Among the challenges: a loss of momentum in his campaign to end the country’s long bout of debilitating deflation. To try to stop the cycle of falling prices and wages, Mr. Abe’s choice for Bank of Japan governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, dramatically expanded the central bank’s monetary-stimulus program. He managed to end years of falling prices and push inflation to about 1% last year. But then Japan’s most closely watched inflation measure fell to zero in February, and may have turned negative in March. That is far below the BOJ’s target of 2%, which Mr. Kuroda had originally pledged to reach by this spring.
“Deflation continued for 15 years, and I can’t say that it’s ended for good, but we have created a situation that is no longer deflation,” Mr. Abe said.
He attributed the weakness in the consumer-price index to sharp declines in oil prices, which hadn’t been anticipated when the government and the central bank agreed on the 2% target in 2013.
“In that sense, I want to recognize Mr. Kuroda’s efforts, and I trust him to make the right monetary policy toward the 2% goal,” Mr. Abe said.
As inflation has lost its momentum, some of Mr. Abe’s policy aides have hinted lately that achieving the 2% goal wasn’t essential, as long as the economy continues to grow and the unemployment is at its lowest level in two decades.
Mr. Abe seemed to concur. “Exiting deflation and setting the 2% price-stability target is about making the economy steadily and healthily grow, and for people to get wealthier year after year,” Mr. Abe said. His advisers, he added, meant that creating growth and wealth “is the goal and 2% is simply a means.”
Mr. Abe defended his broader effort to revive the economy, as he pointed to solid economic growth in nominal terms and strong jobs data. “The jobs market is tight, and wages are rising the most in 15 years,” he said.
Abe: U.S., Japan Close to TPP Trade Deal - WSJ[/URL]
“We think that an agreement between Japan and the U.S. is close, but we’re hoping that even more progress will be made,” Mr. Abe said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Monday. He added that he wants to share an understanding with Mr. Obama that the trade deal is “extremely beneficial for both countries” when he visits Washington on April 28. Mr. Abe said the two nations must use their leadership to conclude the 12-nation deal, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Early Tuesday in Tokyo, U.S. and Japanese negotiators concluded a marathon session and said they had significantly closed the remaining gaps between the two sides, a critical step for the broader TPP group to reach an agreement.
“It would be good if I could reach an agreement during my meeting with the president, but when you climb a mountain, the last step is always the hardest,” Mr. Abe said as the talks were under way. “Ultimately, what needs to happen is for both countries to make a political decision” to address these sensitive areas.
Japan’s chief negotiator, Akira Amari, said Tuesday that rice and autos were “major challenges,” but he said the talks were in the “final stage.”
“The progress that has been made thus far is substantial, and the leaders of the two countries will welcome it,” Mr. Amari said, without giving details of the progress. U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, his counterpart in the talks, said: “The gap between the two sides has been substantially narrowed, but continued work is needed.”
Mr. Abe spoke to the Journal ahead of his trip to the U.S., from April 26 to May 3. In addition to meetings with the president, Mr. Abe will give a speech to a joint session of Congress, the first time a Japanese prime minister will address U.S. lawmakers in more than five decades. In addition to the TPP, other major topics on Mr. Abe’s agenda include beefing up the bilateral security alliance with a new set of defense guidelines and expanding bilateral cooperation on regional security issues in Asia. The prime minister is also scheduled to visit Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Regarding the TPP, officials from the two nations say that on the negotiating table this week are Washington’s demand that Japan substantially increase imports of rice for consumer use and Tokyo’s demand that the U.S. eliminate immediately its 2.5% tariff on auto-parts imports.
Mr. Abe’s push for an early agreement gives a further boost to the trade pact, coming days after leaders in the U.S. Congress agreed to advance so-called fast-track legislation to ease ultimate passage of the trade bill. But the fast-track measure and the pact itself still face stiff resistance in Washington from lawmakers who remain skeptical of benefits for U.S. workers and the economy.
Tokyo and Washington tried to reach a deal on the TPP in April last year ahead of President Obama’s visit to Japan, holding similar marathon talks, but they failed to come to a final agreement. Japan is reluctant to commit to politically difficult concessions on rice without some assurance that Congress will ultimately approve the deal, while the U.S. side would like to get the concessions first and use them to persuade congressional skeptics.
For Mr. Abe, the TPP is a top priority in his agenda to restructure Japan’s economy and boost efficiency, particularly in areas like agriculture. Its success is essential at a time when his broader economic revival package, known as Abenomics, faces widespread skepticism and some big challenges two years after its launch.
Among the challenges: a loss of momentum in his campaign to end the country’s long bout of debilitating deflation. To try to stop the cycle of falling prices and wages, Mr. Abe’s choice for Bank of Japan governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, dramatically expanded the central bank’s monetary-stimulus program. He managed to end years of falling prices and push inflation to about 1% last year. But then Japan’s most closely watched inflation measure fell to zero in February, and may have turned negative in March. That is far below the BOJ’s target of 2%, which Mr. Kuroda had originally pledged to reach by this spring.
“Deflation continued for 15 years, and I can’t say that it’s ended for good, but we have created a situation that is no longer deflation,” Mr. Abe said.
He attributed the weakness in the consumer-price index to sharp declines in oil prices, which hadn’t been anticipated when the government and the central bank agreed on the 2% target in 2013.
“In that sense, I want to recognize Mr. Kuroda’s efforts, and I trust him to make the right monetary policy toward the 2% goal,” Mr. Abe said.
As inflation has lost its momentum, some of Mr. Abe’s policy aides have hinted lately that achieving the 2% goal wasn’t essential, as long as the economy continues to grow and the unemployment is at its lowest level in two decades.
Mr. Abe seemed to concur. “Exiting deflation and setting the 2% price-stability target is about making the economy steadily and healthily grow, and for people to get wealthier year after year,” Mr. Abe said. His advisers, he added, meant that creating growth and wealth “is the goal and 2% is simply a means.”
Mr. Abe defended his broader effort to revive the economy, as he pointed to solid economic growth in nominal terms and strong jobs data. “The jobs market is tight, and wages are rising the most in 15 years,” he said.
Abe: U.S., Japan Close to TPP Trade Deal - WSJ[/URL]
