US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Washington and Tokyo had taken a major step towards sealing a comprehensive new trade deal, after a year of negotiations between the global economic powers. Sitting next to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump said the leaders "formally announce the first stage of a phenomenal new trade agreement," adding "this is a big chunk, but in the fairly near future we are going to have a lot more."

As Trump and Abe met on the side of the UN General Assembly in New York, Abe said a deal would be "a win-win solution for Japan and the United States." Under the agreement, Japan will cut tariffs for $7 billion in US farm exports, including beef and pork, while reducing mark-ups on purchases of American wheat and barley. In return, Washington has agreed to cut US tariffs on $40 million in Japanese agricultural goods and to ease tariff rate quotas on the country's beef, allowing Japan to compete for a greater share of the US market.

But the announcement did not resolve the thorny matter of US threats to slap tariffs on auto imports. Trump, using the threat of tariffs, has sought a comprehensive deal to scale back the US trade deficit with Japan and to benefit American farmers - whose industry helps form a key base of political support.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019