Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said this week he hopes the U.S. will rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement that is worth billions of dollars for U.S. agriculture. Japan is continuing to push to finalize TPP, following Donald Trump removing the U.S. from the agreement. The 11 remaining members have started discussions on how to proceed. Prime Minister Abe told CNBC this week “Japan must now take on a leadership role and bring the talks forward,” because of the U.S. dropout from the agreement. The prime minister added that “momentum” should not be lost, but he left the door open for a U.S. return to the deal. He says: “Since the U.S. understands the importance of having free and fair rules in the trading world, it is our wish that the U.S. will return to TPP.”
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.