Trade talks between the United States and China continued Tuesday for a second day in London. While the meetings involve the treasury secretary, commerce secretary and the U.S. trade representative, they're not the only negotiations in the works.
Japanese officials are quietly talking about the value Japan-based companies bring to the United States.
Factories in the American heartland churn out everything from Toyota Highlanders in Indiana to Kubota tractors in Georgia. Advocates say the American jobs they represent should be worth something in the world of trade talks.
That's a viewpoint Japanese negotiators stressed in their fifth round of trade talks late last week in Washington.
It's a perspective likely to be echoed by the Taiwanese and their multi-billion-dollar investments in semiconductor plants in the United States.
South Korea can make the same argument, backed by tens of billions of dollars of investments by companies including Samsung and Hyundai.
South Korea's new president had his first phone call with President Trump on Friday, and afterwards his office said both leaders would “encourage working-level negotiations to yield tangible results.”
There are deadlines associated with all of this. July 9 is the current deadline for the end of a 90-day pause on certain “reciprocal tariffs” — hitting countries including China.
It also marks the end of a suspension on tariffs involving the European Union. Although in the recent past, deadlines on trade talks have been known to be modified.
