Trade talks are underway between Japan and the United States this week as Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer meets with Japan’s Economic Advisor. 

Agriculture complaints are “front and center” according to Politico, ever since President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the then-called Trans-Pacific Partnership. 

 

The Trump administration is expected to push for similar concessions for U.S. agriculture as seen in the TPP. 

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, called the CTPP, replaced the original agreement the U.S. backed away from, giving U.S. agriculture’s competitors a market advantage. 

 

Japan will be seeking market access in return, which could include growing markets for its specialty agricultural products. 

The preliminary talks are expected to wrap up early this week. 

For now, there’s little word on what objectives the Trump administration has for any deal with Japan, with the expectation that talks this week will surface more details.