Pence Leaves Open Possibility of Bilateral FTA While Speaking During Japan Visit
The Trump administration formally started its economic dialog with the government of Japan on April 18, which could lead to formal bilateral free trade agreement negotiations, Vice President Mike Pence said during a joint press conference alongside Japanese Deputy Prime…
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Minister Taro Aso in Tokyo (here). “I’ll leave that to the future, but tell you that these discussions are very much a reflection of the President’s view that negotiating at arm’s length on a bilateral basis with nations is the best path forward for the United States, the best path forward for the nations with whom we enter into such agreements,” Pence said. Bilateral frameworks allow countries to better assess whether deals are “win-win,” he said. The dialog seeks to identify areas where the two nations can strengthen economic interaction, Pence said. During the press conference, Aso added that “free and fair rule-based trade and investment” is vital for bilateral and global growth, and said the U.S. and Japan should lead the trade rules in the Asia-Pacific region.