Trade minister Takeo Hiranuma and his U.S. counterpart Robert Zoellick agreed Thursday that the two countries will hold working-level discussions in Tokyo as early as next week to finalize the planned creation of a new vice-ministerial trade panel, a Japanese official said.
Hiranuma, the economy, trade and industry minister, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick met on the sidelines of a two-day meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Shanghai.
The high-level panel, tentatively referred to as the Trade Commission, is expected to be launched when Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi holds his first summit with President George W. Bush in Camp David on June 30.
The commission will hold periodic bilateral discussions on key trade issues related to automobiles, agricultural products and other major trade items.