Japan, U.S. Aim This Week for Quick Trade Pact

Top U.S. and Japanese trade negotiators will meet for two days in Washington, D.C., this weeks in hopes of cinching a deal between the two countries by September.

Representatives will kick off two days of high-level talks on Wednesday, The Nikkei reports.

Reaching agreement within six weeks would give Japan’s parliament time to approve the pact by year-end. If that deadline passes with no deal, Japan’s ratification won’t occur until just before next year’s presidential election, the newspaper points out.

Achieving a consensus would require a very rapid resolution to agricultural and auto issues that have stymied the discussions since they began in April.

Japan wants to avoid U.S. quotas or new tariffs on its domestically produced cars and auto parts, which currently account for about one-third of all Japanese exports.

The Trump administration is demanding greater access by American farmers to the Japanese market. Japan currently is the fourth-largest U.S. agricultural market, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Last year Japan had a $58 billion surplus of goods and services sold in the U.S., mostly through trade in the automotive sector.