HONOLULU - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told President Barack Obama on Saturday that Tokyo would put all goods and services on the negotiating table in talks to join a US-led effort to create a Pacific free trade area, the White House said.
Noda also told Obama, in a meeting on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in Hawaii, that he was beginning steps to "review Japan's beef import restrictions and expand market access for US beef," the White House said in a statement.
It cited Obama as saying members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership must meet "high standards," and said the president had asked his trade representative to begin consultations with Congress and others about any concerns in the agricultural, services and manufacturing sectors over Japan's admission to the talks.