TOKYO – The United States and Japan held the third round of meetings of the United States-Japan Partnership on Trade from February 2-3, 2023. The U.S. delegation was led by Deputy Assistant United States Trade Representative Danielle Fumagalli.
The Partnership on Trade was launched in November 2021 during United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s visit to Tokyo. It aims to strengthen the United States-Japan trade relationship by advancing bilateral collaboration on trade-related topics and issues of common interest, as well as to securing regular, ongoing engagement to address bilateral trade issues.
On areas of common interest collaboration, the United States and Japan discussed specific initiatives and efforts, including:
- Labor – Engaged in planning for the agenda and timing of the first meeting of the Task Force on the Promotion of Human Rights and International Labor Standards in Supply Chains, and other issues related to forced labor.
- Digital Economy – Discussed continuing to coordinate efforts to respond to several third-country regulations that present concerns in light of our shared commitments to harnessing the opportunities of the digital economy in a way that supports the interests of users and providers.
- Deepening Collaboration– Shared proposals on potential new approaches in several areas of trade-related collaboration.
- Third-Country Issues – Exchanged information on shared concerns about the non-market and trade-distorting practices of third countries and discussed concrete follow-up activities.
The United States and Japan also discussed bilateral trade issues including regulatory transparency, ensuring a level playing field for certain products and services, increasing Japan’s use of ethanol, and issues related to the Inflation Reduction Act.
The United States and Japan will engage in follow-up intersessional activities and look forward to the next round of Partnership meetings to advance these and other shared priorities.
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