Study Of U.S.-Japan Trade Negotiations In Trump's Administration Under Two-Level Games

The current international economic and trade order is in a period of transformation and turbulence.U.S.President Donald Trump has replaced multilateral trade by relaunching bilateral trade talks around the world.Against this backdrop,a trade war between China and the United States,the replacement of the North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA)with the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Trade Agreement(USCMA),and Japan's renewed U.S.-Japan trade negotiation had broken out.So far,the first phase of U.S.-Japan trade talks has ended,with the two sides agreeing on tariffs on agricultural products and cars in the area of trade in goods and signing the US-Japan Trade Agreement(USTJA).The two sides agreed that tariffs on agricultural products should not be less than 9% of the level of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement(TPP),and the United States agreed not to impose tariffs on cars during the negotiations.In the second phase,the two sides agreed to negotiate on non-trade in non-goods areas such as exchange rates,trade in services and "third-country clauses".Why and how the United States and Japan reached the above-mentioned agreement is the main problem of research,and the two-level game theory is the core theoretical paradigm of the study.In the level?,the United States used the strategy of linking trade issues to security to pass the pressure of protectionism on to the Japanese government,forming a strong external pressure on Japan.Japan has responded by sending lobby groups and actively promoting regional multilateral free trade agreements,although it has shown a conciliatory stance.The two sides exchanged views through many dialogues,summit diplomacy and negotiations,and finally reached an agreement on trade in goods.In addition,the Sino-US trade war is the intermediate variable affecting the U.S.-Japan trade negotiations.In the level ?,the two countries have coordinated the positions of different interest groups,cabinets and government agencies,and jointly promoted the formation of issues.The Trump administration,which represents the demands of political alliances such as domestic agricultural and auto-manufacturing interests,and a presidential election in 2020 could be used as a means of wooing voters.Although the Abe government,as a passive recipient,has also defended the interests of interestgroups such as agriculture and auto companies,and on the other hand,the Agreement with the United States has kept the bottom line of agricultural tariffs,secured the commitment of the United States to impose no tariffs during the negotiations,and promoted agricultural liberalization and investment in the auto industry.Besides,Japan has promoted the process of implementing foreign trade policy for a long time.The U.S.and Japan have thus identified the issues in the field of trade in goods in the international and domestic level stakes.In the short term,the implementation of the agreement will help the United States to reduce the trade deficit with Japan,balancing the two countries' trade structure.In the long run,Japan has accelerated the construction of regional multilateral trade agreements,which is conducive to safeguarding the world's multilateral free trade system.