The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the United States is set to launch separate free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with Japan, the European Union and the United Kingdom. In letters sent to Congress on October 16, 2018, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer wrote: “We are committed to concluding these negotiations with timely and substantive results for U.S. consumers, businesses, farmers, ranchers, and workers, consistent with U.S. priorities and the negotiating objectives established by Congress in statute.”
By issuing these formal letters to Congress, the USTR is following procedures required by the Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015, commonly referred to as Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). The announcement allows negotiations to formally begin with Japan and the European Union after a 90-day period. The letter announcing the negotiations with the United Kingdom accounts for its upcoming exit from the European Union and signals that talks will begin after that is completed in late March 2019.
The congressional notification letters regarding Japan, the European Union and the United Kingdom are available on USTR’s website.