Japan is considering sweetening the pot for U.S. rice farmers in a bid to reach agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a source close to the matter said Monday.
As talks resumed on Saturday between the United States, Japan and 10 other countries negotiating the bloc in Atlanta, Washington and Tokyo remained at odds over rice imports, a heavily protected staple in Japan.
Tokyo earlier proposed a 70,000-ton tariff-free annual import quota for U.S. rice under the trade pact talks, but that was far short of the 175,000 tons demanded by U.S. officials.