Tokyo and Washington concluded preparatory negotiations Friday over Japan's entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, signing a joint statement that allows the U.S. to maintain tariffs on Japanese autos for the time being.
Currently, the United States imposes a 25 percent levy on imported trucks from Japan and a 2.5 percent charge on cars. The two sides agreed that the tariffs will be maintained for the longest period of time permissible under the TPP framework, and this condition should be effectively better than that allowed under the free-trade agreement between the United States and South Korea, according to the joint statement.
In parallel with the TPP talks, Japan and the United States will also launch bilateral talks to lower nontariff barriers between the two countries in such areas as insurance, investment, intellectual property rights, government procurements, food safety, and animal and plant health standards, the statement also said.