US-Japan Trade Talks: The Dog that Did Not Bark

The atmosphere was fraught leading up to President Donald Trump's meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan at Mar-a-Lago in mid-April. Abe's government was unhappy over a range of issues, including the US refusal to exempt Japan from steel tariffs and what Tokyo perceived as the danger of Trump making a deal with North Korea jeopardizing Japanese security. As it happened, however, trade took a backseat at the talks, and that was a good thing for both countries.