Is the "US-Japan Trade Agreement" Trump Brags About Just a Piece of Waste Paper? Japanese Officials Speak the Truth: It's Not Even a "Piece of Paper"...

According to multiple foreign media reports, on August 4, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba admitted in the Diet that implementing and enforcing the US-Japan trade agreement is a greater challenge than reaching an agreement. He did not specify the difficulties, only stating that the agreement was "mutually beneficial" and hoping that the legislators would continue to support the government in implementing the agreement.

The chief representative responsible for negotiations with the United States, Akira Akaoka, also admitted that there is no written document for the US-Japan trade agreement, which may become a difficulty in implementing the agreement. He also did not explain why there was no written document, only saying that "the agreements with the US and the EU, South Korea do not have written documents."

In other words, some people previously criticized the "US-Japan Trade Agreement" as just a piece of waste paper, but in fact, there isn't even a "piece of paper," and the interpretation rights of the terms are completely in the hands of the United States.

As for Trump's personality, the reason he didn't sign a written document should be to make it easier to backtrack in the future. After all, his image of "making up things on the spot" has been established, and one day he might suddenly impose additional tariffs on Japan, South Korea, and Europe. These three countries won't have any text agreements to defend themselves. Of course, it's also possible that the US hasn't prepared the text agreement at all, since they haven't discussed the details. Even if there is an agreement, it can only be a rough framework.

However, Americans haven't thought through the fact that this also means Japan, South Korea, and Europe can also back out at any time. Now, Japan and the EU have already changed their statements about the "investment of 550 billion/600 billion dollars to the US," saying it's not a commitment. However, Trump has not responded to these statements yet, or it may be that he doesn't care about the final implementation, because he is already satisfied with getting "headline news" from the agreement.

Even so, US Treasury Secretary Bowman still wants to use the "Japan, South Korea, and Europe have already stood together with the US" as a leverage to force China to make greater concessions. They think that a negotiation result without legal effect can scare whom?

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1839523196645444/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.