Two stories both dealing with trade news today:
Vice President Mike Pence is meeting with Japan today in Washington. D.C. to talk trade. Politico reports that Pence and Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister will meet for the second round of the U.S.-Japan economic dialogue launched by the Trump administration in the wake of Trump’s decision to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Japan is expected to propose to change its safeguard mechanism on frozen U.S. beef imports to shorten review periods and allow importers to voluntarily lower import volumes to prevent tariffs from automatically kicking in. Japan is currently the fourth largest goods trading partner with the U.S., according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office. U.S. total exports of agricultural products to Japan totaled $11 billion in 2016. Leading domestic export categories include corn, valued at $2.1 billion, pork products, valued at $1.6 billion, beef products, valued at $1.5 billion, and soybeans, valued at $1 billion.
Business leaders from the U.S. and Korea are pressing South Korea and the United States to “eliminate the uncertainty” around the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, known as KORUS. The U.S.-Korea Business Council, along with the Korea-U.S. Business Council, issued a joint statement, calling KORUS “a platform to expand bilateral trade.” President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw the U.S. from the agreement and Korea has agreed to a renegotiation effort by the Trump administration. However, the two business councils, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, expressed concern with the discussions, and the “limited consultation with the business community.” The statement points out the benefits of KORUS to the U.S., noting that Korean tariffs have been reduced or eliminated. U.S. exports of agricultural products such as beef and pork have increased because of the trade agreement.