WASHINGTON: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s and its affiliate, the U.S.-Japan Business Council (USJBC), hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for a discussion with U.S. business executives on ways to strengthen U.S.-Japan economic and trade ties and promote new opportunities for growth. U.S. Chamber President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue welcomed Prime Minister Abe and his commitment to reforms to reinvigorate the Japanese economy.
“We applaud Prime Minister Abe’s leadership and bold program to spur economic growth,” Donohue said. “We are already partners with Japan in many ways and today have within our grasp enormous new opportunities in areas such as trade, energy, and investment to take our partnership to a much higher level.”
Prime Minister Abe delivered a progress overview of his “Abenomics” program for economic revitalization and key structural reforms. He also engaged with the U.S. participants on the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, as well as on additional ways to spur greater interest in the U.S. to expand trade, investment, and tourism ties with Japan. U.S. participants welcomed Abe’s remarks, including his belief that the finish line for TPP negotiations is coming into sight.
“A high-standard TPP agreement is strongly in our mutual economic interest as a driver of new growth and jobs,” Donohue continued. “It’s also a critical platform to expand and deepen our alliance with Japan in the Asia-Pacific and beyond for generations to come.”
Japan, the third largest economy in the world, is America’s fourth largest trading partner and fourth largest export market. Additionally, Japanese companies have invested more than $340 billion in the United States, trailing only firms from the United Kingdom. New investments in the U.S. by Japanese companies topped those from any other nation in 2013 and 2014, with Japanese subsidiaries in the U.S. supporting an estimated 750,000 U.S. jobs in manufacturing, services, wholesale, and other operations.
International trade and investment are key components of the Chamber’s 2015 American Jobs, Growth, and Opportunity Agenda, an ambitious plan to help revitalize the American economy, create jobs, spur growth, and lift incomes.
The U.S.-Japan Business Council is the premier business advocacy organization representing America’s top companies in Japan and is comprised of over 50 senior executives from major U.S. companies across diverse sectors such as health care, financial, and other services, energy, manufacturing, information and communications technology, travel, and consumer products. USJBC companies are firmly committed to the Japanese market and promoting strong economic relations between the United States and Japan.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations. Its International Affairs division includes more than 70 regional and policy experts and 25 country- and region-specific business councils and initiatives. The U.S. Chamber also works closely with 117 American Chambers of Commerce abroad.
