ABC News(BIARRITZ, France) — In an unexpected announcement at the Group of 7 summit, President Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said they have agreed in principle to a trade deal following months of negotiations.
Trump said that the United States and Japan planned to sign the agreement around the same time as the United Nations General Assembly in New York this September. The deal will focus on “agriculture, industrial tarries and digital trade,” per U.S. Trade Rep Lighthizer.
“We’ve agreed to every point,” Trump said, adding that they’ll be preparing the deal to sign at a “formal ceremony.”
Abe added through a translator that the countries “still have some remaining work that has to be done at the working level.”
The surprise announcement was the latest in several developments Sunday at the G-7 summit in here in France.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Zarif reportedly arrived in France for an unplanned visit. Trump, however, would not confirm the reports.
“No comment,” he told reported when asked.
The White House would also not confirm reports that there were no plans form members from the U.S. delegation to meet with their Iranian counterparts while they are in town.
“The president has said before that if Iran wants to sit down and negotiate with us without preconditions to those negotiations,” Treasury Sec. Mnuchin said during at gaggle with reporters after a Sunday show appearance in Saint Jean de Luz. “I’m not going to make any more comments about who’s here and who’s not here, and what conversations may or may not be made.”
Zarif met with President Macron on Friday in Paris ahead of the summit.
Copyright © 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.