TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe signaled that he’s open to a bilateral trade deal with the U.S. after Donald Trump formally withdrew from a 12-nation Asia-Pacific accord this week in one of his first acts as president.
One-on-one talks with the U.S. on a trade deal are “not absolutely impossible,” Abe told lawmakers on Thursday in Tokyo, adding that he’s finalizing negotiations for a summit with Trump. The leaders are set to have a phone conversation in the coming days before meeting in Washington on Feb. 10, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Thursday.
Abe, a key proponent of the Trans-Pacific Partnership regional trade agreement, is seeking ways to boost economic relations with Japan’s only military ally. Trump prefers to negotiate bilateral trade deals and has warned that he might withdraw U.S. troops from South Korea and Japan if allies did not pay more for their services.
Asked in parliament about the potential fate of Japan’s sensitive agricultural sector in any bilateral talks, Abe vowed to “protect what must be protected.”