Sources: Pence told Japan's Aso he favors bilateral trade deal - RTRS

According to a Reuters report, quoting sources with direct knowledge of the matter, the US Vice President Mike Pence told Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso this week that he favored a bilateral trade deal.

Pence and Aso exchanged views following President Donald Trump’s recent remark that he might be willing to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), if it were renegotiated to benefit the United States, the sources said.

Last month, William Hagerty, the US ambassador to Japan, said Washington wanted to see progress on cutting Japan’s trade surplus and forging a bilateral framework by spring.