Japan refused to budge on agriculture
This picture does a nice job of summing up Abe's meeting with Trump. It was diplomatic snub or mixup that had Trump standing in the center of the red carpet while Abe and his wife were pushed to the side at a visit where they were the honored guests.
On Friday before the talks started, Trump said he hoped talks would "go quickly" but that aim was likely dashed when Abe said he wouldn't offer any concessions on agriculture, according to the FT.
US officials had pushed Japan to offer concessions to Trump ahead of a larger deal but Tokyo maintained a stance that it only wants one comprehensive deal. In any case, Abe didn't want to offer agricultural concessions ahead of July elections.
In exchange for lower agricultural tariffs, Japan wants lower tariffs on autos and no threat of national security tariffs.
A separate report from Axios also highlights that US-Japan talks could drag along and that White House talk of a May deal is preposterous.
Abe has no political wiggle room to give Trump what he wants on agriculture without getting significant U.S. concessions in return. Japan's farming lobby is far more powerful than America's - it's virtually untouchable.
Looking ahead, I have been worried that Trump would turn towards Europe and squeeze there after a China deal is wrapped up but it may be Japan in the cross-hairs, despite Abe's efforts to win over Trump.
