Visions - Fall 2019 - 14

THE VIEW FROM WASHINGTON

A Tale of Two Cities-The U.S.- Japan
Trade Agreement and Impeachment
Introduction: A Limited Trade Agreement and Possible Impeachment

ecent weeks in Washington were not necessarily the best of times nor
the worst of times; it was more like the "slightly better" of times and the
"it could get much worse" of times. On the one hand, as anticipated,
President Trump and Prime Minister Abe signed a first-stage trade agreement
on market access and an executive agreement on digital trade when they met
in New York on September 25. SCOA President & CEO & GM for the Americas
Masaki "Mark" Nakajima, was present for the historic signing (see photo below).
Although the full texts of the two U.S.-Japan trade deals have not been released, Left to right: Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
and U. S. President Donald Trump signed a joint
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) fact sheets note that the bilateral trade
trade agreement on September 25, 2019.
negotiations produced a set of "early achievements" that reduce obstacles to
freer trade in agricultural and industrial goods and promote digital trade. On the other hand, the previous day, Speaker
of the House Nancy Pelosi, driven by building pressure from within the Democratic caucus, decided to pursue a formal
impeachment inquiry into allegations that President Trump pressured a foreign leader to investigate the son of political
rival Joe Biden. The Speaker's endorsement makes it likely that President Trump could become just the fourth American
president to face impeachment. Impeachment is the ultimate tool Congress has to check the powers of the executive
and judiciary, and, if necessary, remove officials engaged in wrongdoing from office.
The "Slightly Better" of Times -
U.S.-Japan First-Stage Trade Deals
President Trump and Prime Minister Abe issued a joint
statement on their signing of the first-stage trade agreement on market access and executive agreement on
digital trade. The statement said the two leaders hoped the
agreements would be signed at the earliest possible date
and enter into force in the very near future. While President
Trump can implement the deal on his own, it is believed
that the prime minister will submit the agreements to the
Japanese Diet in the coming weeks, and USTR Lighthizer
expects the agreements to enter into force by January 1,
2020. According to the facts sheet associated with the
agreements, once the accords are implemented, over 90%
of U.S. food and agricultural products imported into Japan

will either be duty free or receive preferential tariff access.
In turn, the U.S. will provide tariff elimination or reduction
on 42 tariff lines for agricultural imports from Japan. On
industrial goods, the U.S. agreed to eliminate or reduce
duties on some products from Japan, including machine
tools, fasteners, steam turbines, bicycles, and musical
instruments. And President Trump said that the executive
arrangement on digital trade would facilitate $40 billion of
digital trade between the two countries.
Although Prime Minister Abe during the negotiations was
unable to extract a pledge from the Trump administration
that eliminates the threat of imposing U.S. Section 232
tariffs on Japanese autos and auto parts, the U.S. appeared
to provide assurances that keep the risk of such tariffs low.
First, the joint statement said that "both nations will refrain

Above: Many business leaders were on hand in New York City, including SCOA President & CEO & GM for the Americas Masaki "Mark" Nakajima (see arrow).
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Fall 2019

Visions - Fall 2019

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