ECONOMY/JAPAN/TARIFFS/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe courted the new American president with a golden driver not long after Donald Trump won the White House. He’s met with the billionaire businessman more than any other world leader, and he is Trump’s second-most frequent caller. Yet the ‘bromance’ between Trump and Abe has its limits. Trump appeared to be successful Tuesday [4-17-18] in reassuring Abe that he would take Japan’s concerns to heart during his upcoming meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. But Wednesday [4-18-18] brought public disagreements, as Trump spurned his guest’s top economic and trade priorities. Principal among them: allowing Japan an exemption from new U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs and persuading Trump to re-join the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.”
-Zeke Miller and Jill Colvin, “Trade issues expose the limits of Trump-Abe ‘bromance’,’ The Associated Press, April 19, 2018