Saturday morning’s Asahi and Yomiuri took up a notification to Congress sent by the USTR regarding its intention to open discussions with Mexico and Canada for updating NAFTA, noting that Japanese automakers are paying close attention to the planned renegotiations that may start as early as August out of fear that the price competitiveness of their products may drop in the U.S. market if import tariffs are reinstated for cars assembled in Mexico for shipment to the U.S. Asahi said the GOJ is also keenly interested in the NAFTA negotiations as they may offer a glimpse into the Trump administration’s trade policy on seeking bilateral free trade talks with Japan. Both dailies focused on Ambassador-nominee Hagerty’s remarks during his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday in which he vowed to open the Japanese market to American products so as to correct the trade imbalance.