Democrat Lawmakers Issue Statement Opposing US-Japan Deal

The New York Times has reported that Rep Richard Neal (D-MA) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) are preparing to issue a statement opposing yesterday's trade deal with Japan on critical minerals and supply chains, calling it "unacceptable."

• More information on the deal in today's US Daily Brief.
• According to NYT, Neal and Wyden, the two most powerful Democrats in Congress on trade issues, criticised the deal, "saying that it should have been made available to Congress and the public for review..."
• Statement: “Agreements should be developed transparently and made available to the public for meaningful review well before signing not after the ink is already dry.”
• The deal announced yesterday provides Japanese firms a workaround to allow access to Inflation Reduction Act incentives despite not having a free-trade agreement with the US, a condition of the IRA.
• NYT: "...because the Inflation Reduction Act does not technically define what constitutes a free-trade agreement, U.S. officials have found what they believe to be a workaround. They are arguing that countries will be able to meet the requirement by signing a more limited trade deal instead."