U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Thursday that he expected to work out a trade deal with Japan within a few months, and warned that the U.S. would lose market share in the country if talks failed.
“I think that we are making headway. We are in a situation where if we don’t make headway quickly, people will lose customers and never get that market share back. It is a serious thing,” Lighthizer said in testimony to the Senate Finance Committee. “The Japanese are fully engaged. They understand what needs to be done. We have been quite clear on it. My hope is that in the next few months that we will have an agreement.”
Lighthizer made the comment in response to a question about selling U.S. beef to Japan.
The trade negotiator said there were a series of negotiations between his office and their Japanese counterparts over the last week. “We are going to meet again during the course of the G-20,” he said, referring to a summit of the world’s top economies scheduled to begin on June 28 in Osaka. President Trump is scheduled to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the same event.
Lighthizer announced in April that the U.S. and Japan had affirmed a common goal to hold further “substantive” trade talks, but did not announce a specific date for the talks. Last week, Japanese Economic Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said the countries were aiming for a deal after Japan’s upper house election, likely to be held next month.
