The U.S.-Japan trade deal, agreed in principle on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in France, spells out a big win for the U.S. that would slash Tokyo's tariffs on American beef, pork and other farm products, and a small win for Japan as it delayed for now the threat of additional levies on Japanese auto exports to the U.S.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump announced the agreement Sunday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, following a bilateral meeting earlier in the day. In announcing the deal, Trump also said Japan would purchase large quantities of U.S. wheat and corn.
"If you say 'win-win,' it's a capital letter 'Win' for the U.S. and a small-letter 'win' for Japan," said Ichiro Fujisaki, a former Japanese ambassador to the U.S. The deal would put the U.S. back in line with its rivals for Japan's agricultural market in terms of tariffs, a position Washington would already enjoy had Trump not rejected an earlier multilateral trade deal.