SEOUL, Apr 25 (AFP) : US officials declared a "breakthrough" Friday after round-the-clock talks with Japan on a trade pact, despite failing to clinch a deal that would have raised hopes of a wider pan-Pacific agreement.
US President Barack Obama left Tokyo empty-handed having arrived Wednesday hoping for demonstrable progress on levering open Japan's tightly guarded auto and agricultural sectors-key sticking points in setting up the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
That did not appear to happen, as Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe emerged from talks on Thursday saying only that they had instructed their negotiators to keep trying, even as the US leader demanded "bold steps" from Japan.
But a senior US official told reporters aboard Air Force One that the intense discussions had gained new momentum after Obama and Abe dined at an exclusive sushi restaurant on Wednesday.
US-Japan trade talks reach ‘breakthrough’
FE Team | Published: April 26, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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