 "Indo-Pacific trade")
The United States hopes to deepen trade ties with Japan as it fortifies cooperation on economic security with its Asian allies and partners, the top US trade envoy said Wednesday.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai's visit to Tokyo follows a trip to the Philippine capital, Manila, that she said highlighted a newly emerging partnership among the three countries as they build both economic and defence ties.
Tai met with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi to discuss making supply chains more resilient and secure, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Tai also reviewed the status of negotiations on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, or IPEF, a new trade pact proposed by Washington, emphasising the importance of cooperation with Japan, it said.
The framework has 13 members, including the US, that account for 40 per cent of global gross domestic product: Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Hayashi responded by welcoming more US engagement in the regional economy, saying Japan will proactively discuss the plan with other partners.
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Japan and the United States have been promoting multilateral cooperation, most recently with the Philippines as they share common concern over China's growing influence and assertiveness in both security and economic activities.
But the US has stepped up diplomacy across the region, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken stopping over the weekend in Vietnam, which Washington sees as a key component of its strategy for the region given the country's traditional rivalry with its much larger neighbour China.
Tai also met Wednesday with Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura. The trade ministry said the two discussed strengthening supply chains an issue that gained urgency amid shortages of computer chips and other goods during the pandemic. They also discussed ways to cooperate in the protection of human rights in business, the ministry said.
Japan and the United States have set up a taskforce that aims to eliminate human rights violations in international supply chains and to ban use of materials from suppliers that subject their workers to inhumane conditions.
To highlight such efforts, Tai toured an outlet of outdoor equipment and clothing retailer Patagonia in Tokyo's popular Shibuya shopping and business district.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
