Nothing peaceful about TPP talks

By according the warmest possible welcome to US President Barack Obama on his three-day visit to Japan from Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is aiming to expedite the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations in order to end the frictions between Washington and Tokyo. Also, Abe thinks that progress on the trade front can, to some extent, ease tensions between the US and Japan after he ignored Washington's caution to visit Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 14 Class-A war criminals, and angered Japan's neighbors, especially China and the Republic of Korea.

Tokyo and Washington are still at loggerheads over a number of issues, especially on reduction of subsidies and import tariffs, in the TPP free trade negotiations. To be more specific, Tokyo and Washington have been at loggerheads over what Japan describes as its five "sacred sectors" - rice, wheat, sugar, dairy products, and beef and pork. Japan wants to protect these sectors, but the US demands full access to the Japanese market for its agricultural goods. Also, Washington insists that Japan lift some technical barriers - like the huge tariff on automobile imports - that prevent some US-made cars from being sold in Japan.

During his talks with Japanese TPP minister Akira Amari on April 9, US Trade Representative Michael Froman reaffirmed that TPP is an organization for economic cooperation with "high ambitions", which include elimination of import tariffs on all products. This means the two sides can reach an agreement only if both make huge concessions.