US says Japan must meet trade pact’s high standards

WASHINGTON: US Trade Representative Ron Kirk sought to assure lawmakers on Wednesday that the United States would not sign off on Japan’s entry into trans-Pacific trade talks until it is confident Tokyo is ready to meet high US goals for the pact. “We’ve been very honest (in talks with the Japanese) that they have to meet those standards,” Kirk told the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee at a hearing on the Obama administration’s trade agenda. “Frankly, it’s in Japan’s hand to demonstrate their willingness to address these issues.” Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, announced its desire last year to join talks with the United States, Australia, Vietnam and six other countries in the Asia Pacific region on the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact, known as TPP. The United States is pushing for an agreement that removes as many tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade as possible, and tackles new issues like the activities of state-owned enterprises, border procedures that disrupt supply chains and obstacles to free trade in environmentally-friendly goods. Detroit-based automakers Ford, Chrysler and General Motors oppose Japan’s participation because they believe Tokyo is not prepared to tear down “non-tariff barriers” the companies blame for low US auto sales in Japan. reuters

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