US and Japan conclude initial trade deal regarding tariff barriers

US and Japan had concluded an initial trade deal regarding tariff barriers between the two nations, US President Donald Trump announced on Monday (local time).

"On October 16, 2018, my Administration notified the Congress that I intended to initiate trade negotiations with Japan on a United States-Japan Trade Agreement," Sputnik quoted Trump as saying in a statement.

"As stated in that notification and subsequent consultations with the Congress, my Administration proposed pursuing negotiations with Japan in stages. I am pleased to report that my Administration has reached an initial trade agreement regarding tariff barriers (the 'agreement') with Japan and I intend to enter into the agreement in the coming weeks," the US President said.

The US president would further add that he would be entering into an executive agreement with Japan regarding digital trade.

On August 26, it was reported that US President had announced that the two countries have agreed to a "big" trade deal. He had made the announcement on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France.

"We have been working on a deal with Japan for a long time. It involves agricultural, e-commerce and many other things. It's a very big transaction and we have agreed in principle. It's billions and billions of dollars. It's tremendous for the farmers," Trump had said. The latest trade deal comes at a time when the US is still locked in a trade dispute and tariff war with China. Even though the two countries had come close to negotiating a deal to bring an end to the trade dispute, Trump blamed China for backing out at the last minute.