Bentsen to Meet With Japanese Premier on Last Leg of Asia Trip
With U.S.-Japanese trade talks mired in angry rhetoric and a deadline for progress approaching, Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen is adding a stop in Japan to his Asian tour, the Treasury announced Wednesday.
Bentsen will meet Sunday with Japanese Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa during what had originally been scheduled as a refueling stop between Shanghai, Bentsen’s final stop in China, and Anchorage, Alaska, on his way back to Washington.
The United States and Japan are trying to complete work on a framework that will guide subsequent talks on trade disputes involving a variety of products, including automobiles, auto parts and electronics.
A series of senior Clinton Administration officials just below Cabinet rank have visited Tokyo in recent weeks but have returned to Washington reporting no real progress.
Bentsen, adding the meeting with Hosokawa and with Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii to his itinerary at President Clinton’s direction, will be the most senior official to try to resolve the deadlock.
Bentsen’s goal is to get the talks back on track so that a framework agreement can be worked out by the time Hosokawa visits Washington on Feb. 11.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
