USTR calls for prioritizing deal with Japan on farm tariff cuts

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Tuesday called for prioritizing a deal with Japan on agricultural tariff cuts as part of efforts to strike a bilateral trade agreement."What I have proposed doing is to try to take care of a couple of the issues, particularly agriculture, early...We don't want to wait the length of time for an entire negotiation," Lighthizer said at a congressional hearing."Beyond that, we want to negotiate across the board with the Japanese," he said.Japanese officials have suggested they would reduce tariffs on American agricultural products to levels agreed …READ FULL ARTICLE