Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Ken Saito held a ministerial meeting of the Japan-United States Commercial and Industrial Partnership (JUCIP).

During the meeting, the Secretary and Minister expressed deep concern about the weaponization of economic dependencies as well as the use of non-market policies and practices on certain supply sources for strategic goods. They recognized that such policies and practices have caused serious harm to industries and workers around the world, including in the Global South, and continue to create excess capacity and pose a grave risk to economic and national security in developed and developing economies alike. They discussed the need to address those systemic vulnerabilities, stemming from such strategic dependencies and overcapacities, and to promote a level playing field through coordinated efforts. In light of these concerns, they agreed to identify and operationalize joint efforts in specific strategic sectors and pursue, as appropriate, actions to increase the resilience of strategic supply chains, through strengthening supply and creating demand. These actions would be pursued both individually and collectively, including with like-minded partners, including in the Global South and will be based on the Principles on Resilient and Reliable Supply Chains, as articulated in the recent G7 Leaders’ Statement, and relevant criteria that take into account not only economic factors but also factors linked to the principles.

The Secretary and Minister also discussed several other areas of cooperation between the Department of Commerce and Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, including on export controls and their desire to increase cooperation to strengthen the supply of gallium, germanium, and graphite.