Japan not rushing into a bad trade deal with Trum

Scott Foster

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Japan’s senior trade officials skipped the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade meetings held last week on South Korea’s Jeju Island.

Neither Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoji Muto nor Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa attended the event, missing an opportunity to talk with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Masaki Ogushi, a member of Akazawa’s negotiating team, represented Japan in their stead.

Unlike the UK, Japan is in no hurry to reach a disadvantageous or incomplete trade deal with US President Donald Trump, particularly with elections to the upper house of Japan’s national assembly coming up in July. And unlike the South Koreans, the Japanese are not seeking a low-key compromise.

The impact of 25% tariffs on autos and auto parts on the Japanese economy is simply too great, and America’s renewed assault on Japan’s rice farmers is too sensitive to tolerate.

Ishiba already leads a minority government, his Liberal Democratic Party having lost its majority in the lower house last October. Now he must either stand up for Japan or risk losing the party’s majority in the upper house as well.

Akazawa is expected to visit Washington, DC, for a third round of formal negotiations later this month, perhaps within the coming week. While Ogushi was in South Korea, he met with Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa to discuss strategy. After that meeting, he told the press, “My focus is on our national interests, to protect what needs to be protected and to say what needs to be said.”

Established in 1989 at the suggestion of Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) describes itself as “a cooperative, multilateral economic and trade forum.” Its 21 members include most of the economic entities around the Pacific Ocean.

The People’s Republic of China, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong are all members. In an unusual recognition of geographic reality, the Russian Federation is also a member. North Korea is not.