President Donald Trump is expected to arrive in Japan later this week for summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that are expected to center on trade and security issues. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall says that bodes well for the administration being able to ink a bilateral trade pact with Japan.

He says the bilateral deal is badly needed so the U.S. can regain market share in Japan. Woodall says we’re currently disadvantaged for that market because Australia, Canada and New Zealand are all in the Comprehensive Trans Pacific Partnership with Japan.

Woodall says the recent full opening of U.S. beef trade to Japan was hopefully the first step in achieving this bilateral deal.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty who’s the top negotiator in the U.S. Japan trade talks says an agreement could happen in months.