US President Donald Trump pressed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday to even out a trade imbalance with the United States and said he was happy with how things were going with North Korea but was in no rush to reach a peace deal.
Trump said at a news conference with Abe after their summit that his goal was to remove trade barriers to put U.S. exports on a fair footing in Japan. He said he hoped to have more to announce on trade very soon and said he and Abe had agreed to expand cooperation in human space exploration.
“We have an unbelievably large imbalance, as you know, trade imbalance with Japan for many, many years, Japan having the big advantage,” Trump said.
“They are brilliant business people, brilliant negotiators, and put us in a very tough spot. But I think we will have a deal with Japan,” he added.
Abe, for his part, said the two leaders had agreed to speed up two-way trade talks, but dodged a question about timing.
Trump, who is on a four-day state visit to Japan meant to showcase the alliance between the allies, said on Twitter on Sunday that he expected big moves on trade would wait until after Japan’s upper house election in July.
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“Trade-wise, I think we’ll be announcing some things, probably in August, that will be very good for both countries,” Trump said on Monday at the start of the talks. “We’ll get the balance of trade, I think, straightened out rapidly.”
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters there was no agreement to reach a trade deal by August.
Abe, who has developed a warm relationship with Trump since the U.S. leader came to office, stressed the closeness of ties.
“This visit of President Trump and Madame Trump is a golden opportunity to clearly show the unshakable bond to the whole world and inside Japan as well,” Abe told the news conference. Reuters
