Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at U.S. efforts to diversify trade in Asia, Argentina’s surprise midterm election results, and Jamaica bracing for a Category 5 hurricane.

This week is all about trade policy for U.S. President Donald Trump. After a whirlwind weekend at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Malaysia, Trump continued his five-day regional tour on Monday with a stop in Japan. There, he is expected to discuss potential avenues to improve bilateral trade relations and seek a fresh ally in Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at U.S. efforts to diversify trade in Asia, Argentina’s surprise midterm election results, and Jamaica bracing for a Category 5 hurricane.

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This week is all about trade policy for U.S. President Donald Trump. After a whirlwind weekend at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Malaysia, Trump continued his five-day regional tour on Monday with a stop in Japan. There, he is expected to discuss potential avenues to improve bilateral trade relations and seek a fresh ally in Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.

Tokyo is similarly invested in cultivating a better relationship with the United States. Ahead of Trump’s meeting with Takaichi, scheduled for Tuesday, the ultraconservative Japanese premier told Trump over the phone that strengthening their countries’ alliance is her “top priority.” To emphasize that point, Trump was granted an audience with Emperor Naruhito on Monday.

The United States and Japan secured a trade deal in July that lowered U.S. tariffs on Japanese goods to 15 percent in exchange for Tokyo promising to invest $550 billion in the United States. Trump and Takaichi are looking to explore ways that Tokyo can fulfill that pledge, such as by purchasing soybeans, gas, and U.S. pickup trucks as well as through increased cooperation in shipbuilding. Reuters reported on Monday that U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Japanese counterpart Ryosei Akazawa have also discussed power grids as a potential investment area.

But Takaichi also wants Tokyo to have more say over those decisions and for the investments to favor........

© Foreign Policy