WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order enacting the recently negotiated trade agreement with Japan, triggering a series of new import commitments from tokyo and reduced tariffs on American automobiles exported there.
the agreement, hailed by the administration as a landmark achievement, aims to level the playing field for American businesses and bolster the U.S. economy through increased exports and foreign investment. The deal impacts a wide range of sectors, from agriculture and manufacturing to automotive and energy, and is expected to generate significant economic benefits for both countries, though critics have raised concerns about the extent to which it truly addresses long-standing trade imbalances.
A key component of the order focuses on agricultural trade. Japan has committed to increasing its imports of U.S. rice by 75 percent under the existing “Minimum access” scheme, bringing the annual tariff-free import volume to approximately 770,000 tons. Beyond rice, Japan will purchase $8 billion worth of U.S.agricultural products annually, including corn and soybeans.
The agreement also addresses non-tariff barriers to trade. Japan is now working to allow the sale of U.S.-manufactured passenger vehicles in Japan that have already been certified to meet U.S. safety standards, eliminating the need for additional, duplicative testing. This is intended to boost U.S. auto exports.
Perhaps the most significant aspect of the deal, according to the executive order, is a commitment from the Japanese government to invest $550 billion in the United States. The order states, “Critically, unlike any other agreement in American history,” the U.S.government will have the authority to select the projects that receive this investment, with the expectation that it will create “hundreds of thousands” of U.S. jobs.
The executive order states that the agreement will provide American producers in the manufacturing, agriculture, and energy sectors “with breakthrough openings in market access across key sectors.”
