Japan

Sen. Warren alleges the department is favoring non-U.S. companies.

Technology policy experts and foreign officials are eyeing a U.S.-Japan Free Trade Agreement as a platform for digital trade rules that the rest of the world -- including China -- can follow.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced on Thursday its plans to garner public comment on what the U.S. should pursue in trade talks with Japan.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has formally notified Congress of the administration's intent to negotiate trade agreements with the European Union, United Kingdom and Japan.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is expected to notify to Congress as soon as this week that the administration intends to formally launch trade negotiations with Japan, the European Union and the United Kingdom, according to several sources with knowledge of the plans.

The U.S. wants a trade deal with Japan that is at least as good as the one Tokyo recently struck with the European Union, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Thursday.

U.S. agriculture groups say they would be satisfied if a U.S.-Japan trade deal offers them the same levels of market access as those negotiated in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a line that Tokyo has laid down for the negotiations.

The U.S. and Japan have agreed to begin negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement, the two countries announced in a joint statement on Wednesday.