TMTPOST -- The Japanese government seems reluctant to make concessions amid the ongoing trade talks with the United States.
Credit：Xinhua News Agency
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday pledged to defend national interest in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent threat of higher tariffs. Japan is different from other countries as it is the largest investor in the United States and one of the biggest creator of jobs there, Ishiba said at a public debate with opposition party leaders.
“With our basic focus being on investment rather than tariffs, we’ll continue to protect our national interest while working to reduce the US trade deficit with Japan,” Ishiba said.
Wednesday saw a report suggested Japan and U.S. sparred over auto tariffs during their meetings these weeks.
The conversations might start shifting from easing the recent tariffs by the Trump administration toward extra punitive measures if Japan and U.S. could not work out an agreement soon, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer warned in their meeting with Japanese counterparts in late May, the Wall Street Journal cited people familiar with the matter. One of the penalties that U.S. officials reportedly indicated is a cap on the number of vehicles Japan could export to the country, also known as voluntary export restraint (VER), a self-imposed trade restriction where the government of a country limits the amount of a certain good.
However, the Japanese officials insisted they are not going to accept the 25% auto tariffs remain in place under the possible trade deal. From the start, they had told the Americans they wouldn’t agree to any deal that preserves Trump’s 25% automotive tariff, the report quoted sources, adding that impasse continues.
Japan now faces a 25% U.S.-imposed tariff on automobiles and auto parts, and a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum. Despite prior ministerial-level rounds of negotiations, little progress had been made in the country's attempt to seek tax exemption.
Ishiba stressed the importance of safeguarding national interests following Trump’s repeated threat of hefty tariffs, ramping up pressure for a deal ahead the July 9 deadline.
In an interview with Fox News broadcast on Sunday, Trump said he doesn’t think he will need to extend the deadline and his administration would notify countries that they have to face higher tariffs unless they strike deals with the U.S.
Trump in the interview singled Japan out, implying he would impose 25% auto tariffs for unfair auto trade. He said the administration’s letter to Japan would go like “Dear Mr. Japan, here’s the story. You’re going to pay a 25 percent tariff on your cars.” “They won’t take our cars, right? And yet we take millions and millions of their cars into the United States. It’s not fair,” Trump added.
Trump on Monday suggested the U.S. government will skip negotiations and directly inform Japan about its planned tariff rates due to the unfair trade of rice. “To show people how spoiled Countries have become with respect to the United States of America, and I have great respect for Japan, they won’t take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage,” Trump said in a post on his social media Truth Social. “In other words, we’ll just be sending them a letter, and we love having them as a Trading Partner for many years to come,” Trump continued in the post.
A Japanese government spokesperson on Tuesday said the country will not sacrifice the agricultural sector as part of trade talks with U.S. "We are not thinking about doing anything that would sacrifice the farm sector," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a press conference.
Trump later Tuesday expressed his skepticism over a possible trade deal with the U.S. ally. “I’m not sure we’re going to make a deal. I doubt it with Japan, they’re very tough. You have to understand, they’re very spoiled,” Trump said.
Trump said he would force Tokyo to “pay 30%, 35% or whatever the number is that we determine, because we also have a very big trade deficit with Japan.” The tariff rates of 30% or 35% would notably be higher than the 24% duties on Japan that Trump announced on April 2, a date he proclaimed “Liberation Day”.
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