US President Trump has once again sown confusion by indicating that the US may still join the Trans Pacific Partnership. However, he indicated that this would require a renegotiation of the agreement, which looks unlikely. We think that the US will instead use the recent tariffs on aluminium and steel combined with the threat of additional import duties as a bargaining tool to force Japan to sign a bilateral free trade agreement. This would benefit Japanese exporters and consumers though those gains wouldn’t materialise for years.
Become a client to read more
This is premium content that requires an active Capital Economics subscription to view.
Already have an account?
You may already have access to this premium content as part of a paid subscription.
Sign in to read the content in full or get details of how you can access it
Register for free
Sign up for a free account to:
- Unlock additional content
- Register for Capital Economics events
- Receive email updates and economist-curated newsletters
- Request a free trial of our services