Japan

Japan is lobbying additional Asian countries to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in a bid to reduce supply-chain dependency on China, according to a report out of Japan.

Dan DiMicco, a member of USTR’s chief advisory panel and a longtime adviser to President Trump, said the administration’s trade team is working on business as usual despite complications caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this month the upper house of the Japanese Diet approved the pacts after the lower house advanced them in November.

A group of outside advisers to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is calling for more robust cybersecurity and information communications technology accords between the U.S. and Japan.

Several members of the House Ways & Means trade subcommittee on Wednesday blasted the administration for neglecting to conduct meaningful consultations during their negotiations with Japan as required by the 2015 Trade Promotion Authority law.

Republican Senate Finance Committee members Rob Portman (OH) and Tim Scott (SC) said the administration’s lack of announcement on the Section 232 auto probe this month suggests the president may forgo imposing tariffs on key allies.

No administration officials are scheduled to appear at Wednesday’s hearing.

House lawmakers are pressing U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer for more information on initial and broader trade deals with Tokyo, questioning how the agency says it is upholding key tenets of a 2015 trade law.

NEW YORK -- White House trade adviser Peter Navarro and former USTR General Counsel Stephen Vaughn this week said the U.S. was open to working with other countries to rein in Chinese trade behavior, but contended that multilateral efforts have often proven too slow and inefficient and questioned whether some key allies would be helpful in confronting Beijing.