The United States and Japan announced on Wednesday that they will open negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement. This is a significant shift by Tokyo which has been a strong advocate of a multi-nation trans-Pacific trade pact that President Donald Trump withdrew from soon after taking office. The move won Japan relief from the immediate threat of punitive tariffs on its auto exports to the US, AP said. Trump made the announcement after meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. He said that Japan had been unwilling in the past to enter into such talks, but had since reconsidered. He said such a deal “will be something very exciting.”