Japan and the United States are close to agreeing to hold talks on issues related to the automobile and auto parts industries, following the expiration of a bilateral trade accord at the end of last year, trade sources said Wednesday.
The U.S. government proposed the new talks after Japan rejected its call to renew the 1995 bilateral trade agreement aimed at boosting sales of U.S.-made automobiles and auto parts in Japan, the sources said.
The new round of discussions among working-level officials would be held once a year, starting this fall, to discuss problems between the two countries related to these industries, they said.
In the previous five-year agreement, Tokyo promised to further open its market to imports and agreed to annual reviews of progress toward that goal.