Missing What’s Going On

Because the negotiators strictly controlled information, speculative reports confused the nation. Bilateral talk between Japan and the United States on Trans-Pacific Partnership reached no concrete deal during U.S. President, Barack Obama, stayed in Tokyo. Although Japanese Minister and U.S. Trade Representative talked night and day, distance between them still remained. Promise of the top leaders to conclude this issue at the state visit was broken.

It was unusual that joint statement was not prepared when both leaders of Japan and U.S. held a joint press conference after their summit meeting. The only reason for that was negotiation on TPP had not finished. They ordered to continue the talk while Obama was participating in official schedule of his state visit. While the President was playing succor with Asimo, one of the world’s most advanced humanoid robot developed by Honda Motor Co. Ltd., or taking a rest in his hotel room after state dinner with Japanese Emperor in Akasaka Palace, the officials kept on negotiating to narrow their differences.

Akira Amari, the Minister in charge of TPP, announced that they could not reach a deal and decided to continue the talk in Friday morning, few hours before Obama would leave Tokyo to Seoul. “Nothing was settled. While the distance has been shortened, this is not a overwhelming deal,” told Amari about discussion over tariffs of five important agricultural products and automobile.

According to the reports, the difference was too sharp to make a deal between Japan insisting on leaving tariff on five important products and U.S. requiring the highest standard of free trade. Although TPP is a framework for eliminating tariff, Japan tries to change the rule of the game to protect domestic uncompetitive agriculture. Frustrated with rigorous Japan, U.S. Trade Representaitve, Michael Froman, introduced a demand of loose safety standard on U.S. autos exported to Japan. This argument invited sharp criticism in Japan that U.S. was pushing their low-profiled products or that was no longer a free-trade negotiation.

Yomiuri raised a big headline that both had made a substantial deal, in spite of the fact that Amari had dismissed any deal. Since the paper scooped highly speculative story days before that the both had agreed with a deal on 9% tariff on U.S. beef, some deal must be done in Obama’s visit for maintaining credibility as a news organization.

As a result, people still do not know what was really going on at the negotiating table. Considering that Obama does not want the issue affects mid-term election this fall, TPP framework may not work forever.