Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Friday expressed eagerness to start negotiations with Japan at an early date for a bilateral free trade agreement, saying the United States considers it a \u201cvery high priority\u201d to forge such a deal with Japan….<\/b>
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Friday expressed eagerness to start negotiations with Japan at an early date for a bilateral free trade agreement, saying the United States considers it a \u201cvery high priority\u201d to forge such a deal with Japan. The comment was taken as suggesting that the United States may propose talks for a bilateral FTA in a high-level economic dialogue the two governments are planning to start in April. Japan \u201cis a major trading partner and military defence partner of the US,\u201d Ross said at a news conference after a meeting with Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo in Washington. \u201cSo obviously, it would have very high priority\u201d in the Trump administration\u2019s trade policy, he said. The new dialogue mechanism will be led by Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso and US Vice President Mike Pence. Referring to Trump\u2019s call for renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, Ross said the administration could inform Congress in the next couple of weeks about its intent to start talks on NAFTA. The remark indicated renegotiations could start as early as June. Trump has vowed to renegotiate the terms of NAFTA with a threat to leave the bloc if Mexico and Canada \u201crefuse a renegotiation that gives American workers a fair deal.\u201d<\/p>\n