Ten Senate Democrats urged the White House to oppose Japan's entry into Asia-Pacific trade deal talks.
The lawmakers, many representing auto industry states, wrote a letter to President Obama calling the U.S.-Japan trade relationship "complicated and unbalanced," saying it's "especially acute in the auto sector."
Japan is the last of three nations that has expressed interest in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, but the government hasn't decided whether it wants to join the discussions. Mexico and Canada officially joined the talks this month after lobbying for spots since November.
In the letter, the senators argue that Japan has too many barriers in place to U.S. automakers to make them worthy of an invitation.
"The United States has attempted to address this imbalance in past trade negotiations, but it has been unsuccessful," they wrote.