(AFP) – Tokyo’s envoy for US tariff talks in Washington said Thursday that the second round of negotiations between the two countries had been “frank and constructive.” Japan, a key US ally and its biggest investor, is subject to the same 10 percent baseline tariffs imposed on most nations plus steeper levies on cars, steel, and aluminum.
President Donald Trump also in early April announced “reciprocal” tariffs on Japan of 24 percent, but later put them on pause for 90 days along with those on other countries except China. “We were able to move forward in frank and constructive discussions to reach a mutually beneficial agreement as soon as possible,” Ryosei Akazawa told reporters Thursday. “We were able to advance concrete discussions on, for example, expanding trade between our two countries, non-tariff measures, and economic and security cooperation.”
Akazawa said he had “strongly proposed” to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other officials that Trump’s sweeping levies on trade partners be reviewed. The next round of ministerial-level talks will “take place intensively from mid-May onwards,” Akazawa said. Thursday’s talks followed an initial meeting in mid-April. Akazawa said any deal on tariff relief would be in the form of a package, which will be announced when finalized.
“We have not yet reached the point where we can find areas of agreement,” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters. “However, I have been informed that the discussion was very positive and constructive.”
– ‘Firmly defending’ interests –
Trump has repeatedly called for a stronger yen to boost US exports, but foreign currency rates were not discussed Thursday, Akazawa said. The yen has risen significantly since Trump’s tariffs were announced and was trading at 145 for a dollar, compared with 158 in mid-January. Japanese media had said the second round of talks could focus on automobiles and agricultural products, which Akazawa called “very important economic sectors.”
“We have no intention of negotiating in a way that would be detrimental to the national interest, so we have been firmly defending what needs to be defended and saying what needs to be said,” he said. Akazawa had told reporters at the airport on Wednesday that “Japanese companies are losing money each and every day” because of US tariffs. He said Thursday that he did not discuss China with the US officials, adding that Japan has a “very strong trade relationship with China too.”
“We will continue to monitor the developments in US-China relations, including the tariff measures against China, with great interest.” Separately, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said on a TV Tokyo program on Friday that Japan’s holdings of US Treasuries could be a bargaining chip in the negotiations. “It is natural to discuss everything that is a negotiation card… Whether we use them or not is another matter,” Kato said, according to TV Tokyo. “We don’t keep (the Treasury holdings) to support the US. We will intervene if our country is in trouble.”
– Natsuko FUKUE
© 2024 AFP
