Japan’s Abe touts trade deals, calls for change

Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, speaks during a plenary session in the Congress Hall at the 49th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 23, 2019. AP

DAVOS, Switzerland — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has touted the benefits of two recent “mega deals” in trade. He said Japan, the European Union and the United States must work together to reform the World Trade Organization, notably on rules about government subsidies.

Abe’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, marked his return to the elite gathering after five years.

He referred to the Trans-Pacific Partnership wrapped up next year and the looming entry into force on Feb. 1 of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership agreement.

Abe urged a Davos conference hall to “rebuild trust toward the system for international trade.”

The allusion to government subsidies and call for a trading system that protects intellectual property rights amounted to a reference to China, which the Trump administration has castigated for failing to be transparent on its government subsidies and for swiping intellectual property. /ee