U.S. Shouldn't Let Japan Enter TPP Negotiations, Say Senators

A group of ten Senators said the U.S. shouldn't allow Japan to enter Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations due to the country's unfair automobile trade practices. The Senators wrote President Barack Obama in a July 17 letter, saying the "history of U.S.-Japanese trade relations gives us little confidence that American negotiators can achieve an agreement that would create a truly level playing field between the two countries in the short timeframe of TPP negotiations." As such "we believe it would be a mistake to invite Japan to join the TPP at this time," they said.

"As Senators representing states in which the U.S. automotive industry has a strong presence, we are particularly worried about the impact that Japan's inclusion will have on American carmakers and their workers," they wrote. "The United States has attempted to address this imbalance in past trade negotiations, but it has been unsuccessful. Japan has previously made concessions, including the elimination of tariffs on automobile imports. However, new barriers to trade have arisen to replace the old."

The Senators who sent the letter are: Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Robert. Casey (D-Pa.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Barnard Sanders (I-Vt.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y).