Will the United States’ trade deal with Japan make life more difficult for China?

Decision by Washington and Tokyo to remove barriers to each other’s goods could create a new obstacle for Beijing, observers say

China now keen to see if US-Japan deal contains the ‘poison provision’ that could derail its own free-trade plans

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Washington’s deal with Tokyo could put more pressure on officials trying to resolve the US-China trade war. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:45am, 27 Sep 2019Updated: 10:15pm, 27 Sep 2019

The signing of a trade agreement between Washington and Tokyo may complicate efforts to resolve the US-China tariff war, observers say, as it could bolster the US’s attempts to force Beijing into acquiescing to its demands.

Speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced they had agreed a deal that would reduce barriers to American beef, pork, wheat, cheese, almonds, wine and other products entering Japan, and to turbines, machine tools, bicycles, green tea, flowers and other goods moving in the opposite direction.

Trump described the agreement as a “huge victory for America’s farmers, ranchers and growers”.

While its full text has not been released, the deal does not appear to include any assurances that the US will not impose tariffs on imports of Japanese cars under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, as Trump has threatened to do in the past.

With the next round of trade talks between officials from the US and China set to take place in Washington in two weeks’ time, observers said the new deal could make matters worse for Beijing.

“[The agreement with Japan] is a major milestone for the Trump administration’s preference for striking bilateral free-trade deals, and could further boost its confidence in future trade negotiations,” said He Ping, an associate professor at Fudan University in Shanghai.