Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) has been on an Indo-Pacific tour, and he visited Tokyo where he met with Defense Minister Taro Kono and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.
While there, he praised the newly signed U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement, calling it a victory for hardworking Texans and Americans.
Speaking on the agreement, Sen. Cruz explained that the agreement “will expand the trade between our two nations and will benefit both nations.” Furthermore, he praised “the strong position that Japan has taken in dealing with North Korea and the threat posed by North Korea, and also in dealing with military expansionism coming from China.”
The Texas senator emphasized that “China poses the greatest long term and even medium term geopolitical threat to the United States. And the American-Japanese friendship and alliance is critically important for standing up to that threat and preserving peace and security both in the Pacific region and across the globe.”
China is a country that Senate Republicans have consistently criticized, arguing that the country possibly poses a great cyber threat to the United States.
In speaking about the relationship that both Japan and the United States have, the Texas senator expressed that “this is a friendship that both countries value, that we cherish.”
And, the goal is to continue “working together to strengthen that friendship and relationship – to strengthen the investment.”
On the subjects that were discussed, the leaders spoke about “the Japanese investment in F-35 fighter craft, which are manufactured in… Texas.” As well, Cruz detailed that he “talked about the very significant Japanese investment in Texas.”
Cruz shared that he visited “both the North American headquarters and the truck factory of Toyota outside of San Antonio and that is a powerful illustration of the synergies. How both countries are benefited from trade, from friendship.”
