The United States will urge Japan to reduce tariffs on agricultural products beyond levels agreed to under the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an 11-member regional free trade agreement, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue indicated Thursday.
"We would expect certainly equal or better than the TPP deal," Perdue told reporters Thursday, in yet another bid to prioritize America's farm exports ahead of the expected start of negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement on goods, or TAG, in mid-January.
The comment suggests President Donald Trump's administration will push for increased market access for beef, pork and other farm products in Japan during the upcoming negotiations involving U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Economic Revitalization Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.