Quake May Delay Kan’s Free-Trade Push in Setback for Obama

March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s strongest-ever earthquake may derail Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s push to join U.S.-led trade talks after the resulting tsunami devastated farmers.

Kan had set a June deadline to decide on whether to join the talks toward slashing some of the world’s highest agricultural duties, including a 778 percent tariff on rice. Two lawmakers from Kan’s ruling Democratic Party of Japan said the Trans-Pacific Partnership is off the table for now as the government focuses on quake victims and the nuclear crisis.