A Japan-U.S. summit planned for late April should not be seen as a deadline for reaching a bilateral deal seen as vital to concluding a 12-country Pacific free trade pact, economic and fiscal policy minister Akira Amari said Tuesday.
Japan and the United States, the largest economies in the Trans-Pacific Partnership framework, will resume working-level talks on Wednesday in Tokyo. They hope to hold a ministerial meeting to advance their talks before the summit on April 28.
Speculation has emerged among trade observers that Japan and the United States may finally cut a deal when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Barack Obama meet in Washington on April 28.