Sept. 26, 2019
President Trump continues to fulfill a key campaign promise – to negotiate new trade deals and update existing ones to the benefit of American workers and businesses. Earlier this week, President Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a two-part trade agreement between the United States and Japan that will lower barriers to trade and reduce tariffs, increase U.S. exports to Japan, grow the agricultural sector, and promote jobs.
As a result of the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement, over 90 percent of U.S. products (worth $14.1 billion) will be tariff free or will receive preferential tariff access. This will promote numerous U.S. exports including beef and pork, wheat, sweet corn, almonds, cheeses, and wine.
The U.S. will reduce or eliminate tariffs for $40 million worth of agricultural imports including plants, flowers, green tea, and soy sauce, and will also reduce tariffs on industrial goods.
The agreement also establishes digital product protections. The protections prevent discriminatory tax measures and tariffs on digital products and data transfers. Additionally, it safeguards the privacy and encryption of data so that protections meet the criteria laid out in the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), which has continually been praised for its modern and comprehensive IP protections.
The U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement is a great step towards Trump’s promise of free trade that benefits Americans across the country.
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The U.S. and Japan have made clear that their agreement is not the end of negotiations, but a strong and successful first step for both countries. They will continue negotiations to further improve their economic relationship.
Even so, the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement marks another win for the Trump Administration’s goal to grow the U.S. economy, raise wages and create new jobs, and ensure American workers and businesses can compete.
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