In drafting a joint statement for release after the summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, Washington urged Tokyo to refer to signing a bilateral free trade agreement, sources close to the matter said.
As Japan showed reluctance, the joint statement was actually released with the phrase, "discussions between the United States and Japan on a bilateral framework." The statement stopped short of a pledge on a possible bilateral free trade agreement, the sources said Tuesday.
It is the first time a specific demand by the Trump administration surfaced regarding a bilateral trade pact, which has recently been debated as a possibility since the United States withdrew from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal last month.