The United States will push Japan to reduce tariffs on agricultural products beyond levels agreed to under a free trade agreement between Japan and the European Union, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue indicated Thursday.
"We think frankly that we are a better ally of Japan than the European Union is and we would expect to have an equal or better deal than Japan gave the European Union regarding agriculture," Perdue told journalists.
The remark came after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed last week to start negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement on goods based on the understanding that Washington will not demand deeper farm tariff cuts than levels in Japan's trade pacts such as the Japan-EU FTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an 11-member regional FTA.