Japanese and U.S. trade chiefs met Wednesday to discuss outstanding bilateral issues related to the ongoing Pacific trade talks — striving to break the stalemate in negotiations ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Tokyo in just two weeks.
Akira Amari, Japan's minister in charge of the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman will try to find common ground on how to deal with Japanese tariffs on farm goods, as well as auto trade issues.
The meeting could be the last opportunity for the two nations to make progress on the talks before a summit between Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on April 24, when both sides are hoping to reach a broad agreement on opening market access for agriculture and autos, the biggest sticking points.