Obama Firm on Opening Japan to U.S. Automakers as Abe Visits

President Barack Obama won’t back off demands that Japan ease barriers for U.S. automakers before joining negotiations for a regional Pacific trade agreement when he meets today with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, White House aides said.

A more open market for companies such as Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC remains “an important pre-condition” to Japan’s potential entry into a proposed trade pact known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, said Mike Froman, Obama’s deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs.