Oct 16 (politico.eu) - Japanese officials are expressing growing frustration with the Trump administration's economic policies, vowing to continue striking trade deals with other countries that undercut U.S. agricultural exports rather than seek a new trade agreement with the United States.
The frustration comes both from Trump's harsh rhetoric on trade and from his pullout from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Japan still hopes can provide a bulwark against China's growing influence in the Asia-Pacific region.
Meanwhile, there is growing evidence that the failure of the TPP is taking a sharp toll on rural America. In August, U.S. sales of pork to Japan dropped by 9 percent, a serious blow to farmers who had been preparing for a big increase in sales because of lower tariffs in the TPP.
Instead, other countries that export meats, grains and fruits have seized on their advantage over American growers and producers in the wake of the U.S. pullout from the TPP. And a new Reuters poll shows Trump's favorability in rural America - once a great stronghold - dropped from 55 percent last winter to 47 percent in September. The poll also showed a plunge in support for Trump's trade agenda among rural voters.
Both Vice President Mike Pence and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue - who were widely known as free traders before working for Trump - have pointed to the president's desire for "beautiful" new trade deals to replace the TPP. Perdue said this month that crafting a new deal with Japan was a top priority. And on Monday, Pence will meet with his Japanese counterpart as part of an effort to reboot the economic relationship between the two countries.
A spokesperson for Pence did not respond to multiple requests for comment on both the meeting and the U.S. economic relationship with Japan.
But in interviews with POLITICO, more than a half a dozen senior Japanese officials said they were uneasy with a so-called bilateral - two-nation - deal to replace the TPP, arguing that the goal of the multi-national agreement was to create a wide international playing field. They said they are dismayed by Trump's seeming inability to understand the importance of a multi-national pact to establish U.S. leadership in the region and set the trade rules for nations on both sides of the Pacific Ocean as a counterweight to China's rising influence.
"Our prime minister has made it quite clear that we respect the U.S. decision … That is our official position, but I think withdrawal from TPP is very wrong," said one senior official. "Honestly, it has diminished many of things that the U.S. has achieved in the region."
In response, Japan has continued negotiating with American trade competitors, finalizing a landmark free-trade agreement with the European Union in July while continuing to work toward closing a deal with the 11 remaining members of the TPP. In interviews, the senior Japanese officials made clear their ultimate goal is to persuade the United States to rejoin the TPP.
"In the conduct of our affairs with the United States, we need to have leverage," said one former senior Japanese cabinet official. "In order for us to convince the U.S., we need to have our own leverage and our own leverage needs to be free-trade agreements [with U.S. competitors]."
There are some signs the Japanese strategy is working. Republicans in Congress, many of whom were TPP supporters, are expressing impatience with the administration and a conviction that U.S. agricultural industries are suffering because of tensions unleashed by the TPP pullout.
