Japan has agreed to hold talks about opening its automobile market and offered minor upfront concessions in a move that clears the path for the country to join broader U.S. free-trade negotiations.
The deal announced Friday by U.S. and Japanese officials will have little immediate impact on an auto market that is notoriously tough on foreigners. Japan agreed, for example, to increase from 2,000 to 5,000 the number of autos in different size classes that can be imported under a streamlined "preferential" customs process. That pales, however, next to the $2 billion or so worth of autos that Japan ships to the United States each month.
Read full article >>
