U.S.-Japan Bilateral Negotiations on Motor Vehicle Trade and Non-Tariff Measures

With the participation of Japan, TPP countries account for nearly 40 percent of global GDP and about one-third of all world trade. Japan is currently the fourth-largest goods trading partners of the United States. The United States exported $67 billion in goods and an estimated $47 billion in services to Japan in 2014.

Nevertheless, U.S. exporters have faced a broad range of formidable non-tariff measures in Japan’s automotive and other markets. As a result, prior to Japan joining the TPP negotiations, the United States reached a series of agreements with Japan to address a range of issues in conjunction with Japan’s participation in TPP. This includes an agreement that U.S. tariffs on motor vehicles will be phased out in accordance with the longest staging period in the TPP negotiations and will be back-loaded to the maximum extent.

The United States and Japan also agreed to address non-tariff measures through parallel negotiations to TPP, which were launched in August 2013.

• Secure enforceable commitments related to the automotive sector that will address a broad range of non-tariff measures – including those related to:
  
  • Regulatory transparency
  • Standards
  • Certification
  • Financial incentives
  • Distribution