Japan-U.S. Agree To More Dereg Talks

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and U.S. President Bill Clinton agreed over the weekend to a fourth year talks to deregulate bilateral trade. The latest discussions ended with a joint report to the leaders on high-stakes sectors ranging from energy, insurance, and telecommunications.

U.S. business leaders argued in Tokyo last week that deregulatory talks between the world’s two largest economies must continue to foster growth opportunities for both countries. The agenda over the next, year, however was left open. “I don’t think there is a specific agenda yet,” a senior U.S. official told reporters. “What we were looking for was the commitment to go forward and the next stage of the process will be to try to refine that.”