Last Friday, the Brookings Institute hosted a discussion on Japan’s desire to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and I was pleased to join a panel with New Zealand Ambassador Mike Moore and former U.S. Trade Representative Clayton Yeutter.

It was a very timely discussion. Last month, the United States hosted the APEC summit in Hawaii, for which TPP was the star of the show.  Prior to travelling to APEC, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda made a bold statement expressing Japan’s wish to join the TPP agreement as a long-term investment in the country’s economic growth. The statement was welcomed by the U.S. government and business community, and we applaud the Prime Minister for his leadership.

As is usually the case in a room filled with so many notable leaders, the discussion was hard-pressed to arrive at any universal consensus.  However, there are two points on which almost all were in agreement with: 1) Japan’s ascension to TPP is both beneficial for Japan domestically, and the current TPP members and, 2) Japan must take immediate and decisive action to show the current TPP partners that they are ready to deal with their sensitive trade issues.

In recent years, the U.S.-Japan economic relationship has made a positive shift away from the friction that dominated trade talks over the last 20 years, toward a dialogue focused more on mutual cooperation. It is in this vein, that we support Japan’s desire for TPP membership and we welcome the opportunity to work with our Japanese colleagues on a new 21st Century standard for trade and investment in the Asia Pacific.

Over the next several weeks the Chamber will be working with our members and the U.S. government on a pathway forward. We are asking our Japanese colleagues to reinforce their statement of desire with actions which will demonstrate their readiness to make the tough, market liberalizing changes necessary in a 21st Century trade negotiation.