White House officials, previewing the upcoming state visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said Friday they don’t expect any formal announcement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal during his time in Washington, citing tariffs on autos and beef as persisting sticking points in the talks.
“We’re not there yet to a final deal,” said Caroline Atkinson, deputy national security adviser for international economics. “More work is needed.”
Officials did, however, preview a “major announcement” on U.S.-Japan military ties, set to be unveiled during a meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Ash Carter and their Japanese counterparts on Monday.
Without getting into details, Obama’s top aide for Asian affairs, Evan Medeiros, said the deal would provide a “mechanism” for Japan to provide a greater range of support to the U.S. militarily.
Abe arrives in the U.S. Monday and makes four stops on his tour, in Boston, Washington, San Francisco and Los Angeles. In D.C. he’ll be welcomed by the trappings of an official state visit: an arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, a bilateral meeting and press conference with President Barack Obama, lunched hosted by Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden at the State Department and a formal state dinner on Tuesday night with some 300 guests due to be in attendance.
The trip is being characterized by officials as another step in Obama’s “pivot” toward Asia, a long-promised but often-neglected aspect of the president’s foreign policy. That pivot will include another state visit later this year with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Obama’s attendance in November at the annual APEC and ASEAN conferences being held in the Philippines and Malaysia, respectively.