Taro Aso, Japan's deputy prime minister, ruled out the possibility of holding talks on a bilateral trade deal with the United States, stressing that such agreements would not benefit his country. He added that Japan should not be dragged into talks on a bilateral trade agreement in exchange for tariff exemptions on steel and aluminum.
Aso's comments came after the United States agreed with South Korea to review their trade deals, through a side deal to prevent competitive devaluations. Japan opposes US calls for negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement that could force Japan to open its agricultural markets.
Japan is only exporting private steel products in which it has a distinct market share and cannot be produced by US companies. If it wants to buy these products, American companies needs to buy them from Japan and American companies will suffer, he said.
