Abe, Trump discuss trade, North Korea
Japan disagrees that TPP pact is a ‘bad deal’
PALM BEACH: Seeking to reassure Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of their close alliance ahead of planned talks with North Korea, the Trump administration has signaled it is open to considering exempting Japan from new steel and aluminum tariffs that Mr Abe opposes.
Hosting Mr Abe at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Mr Trump said the tariffs could be a topic during the visit, which comes as Mr Trump prepares for an historic summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.
Mr Trump also gave Mr Abe a win on Tuesday, pledging to raise the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea, a top Japanese priority, in his meeting with Mr Kim.
But Mr Trump later suggested there was one area where he and Mr Abe would have to agree to disagree: the Trans-Pacific trade partnership, which Mr Trump pulled the US out of days after his inauguration, but has recently said he might be open to re-joining.
“While Japan and South Korea would like us to go back into TPP, I don’t like the deal for the United States,” Mr Trump tweeted, following a dinner with Mr Abe and their wives. “Too many contingencies and no way to get out if it doesn’t work. Bilateral deals are far more efficient, profitable and better for OUR workers.”
The two-day Trump-Abe summit played out amid growing tensions between the two countries over North Korea and trade. Japan has warned that Mr Kim may simply be trying to buy time and has raised concerns that the US might not press Mr Kim to abandon his short- and mediumrange missiles, which pose an immediate threat to Japan, as they discuss the country’s nuclear weapons program.
Japan has also been questioning why it wasn’t granted exemptions to Mr Trump’s protectionist measures on steel and aluminum when most other key US allies, among them Australia, Canada, the European Union and Mexico, have been.
But Mr Abe spent much of Tuesday praising Mr Trump’s courage for agreeing to meet and suggested the two had already come to terms on several contentions issues.
Speaking through a translator during one of their meetings, Mr Abe said he and Mr Trump had had “very in-depth discussions” on both North Korea and economic issues and said that “on those two points” they had “successfully forged a mutual understanding”.
The two did not reveal what those agreements were, but Mr Abe had been expected to urge to Mr Trump to exempt Japan from the tariffs and press him on the missile issue.
Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, had said earlier on Tuesday that issuing Japan the waiver was “on the table” but he declined to say what Mr Trump would ask for in return.
Trump said on Tuesday the US and North Korea had been holding direct talks in preparation for their summit.