US-Japan trade deal guarantees lowest tariff rates for chips, pharma, Japanese official says
"If a third country agrees with the United States on lower rates on chips and pharmaceuticals, those lower rates would apply to Japan," Ryosei Akazawa told a news conference.
The European Union secured a 15% baseline tariff as part of a framework trade deal with the U.S. this week, averting looming new tariffs on chips and pharmaceuticals.
Japan last week struck a trade deal with the U.S. that lowers tariffs on cars and other goods to 15% in exchange for a U.S.-bound $550 billion Japanese investment package including equity, loans and guarantees.
Asked why there has been no joint statement on the agreement, Akazawa said Japan is prioritising having President Donald Trump sign an executive order to bring the agreed 15% tariff rate into effect.
"We want to concentrate our efforts on getting the tariffs lowered first, and then we can consider whether an official document on the agreement is necessary," he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Channel 4
12 minutes ago
- Channel 4
Global markets fall as new wave of Trump tariffs hit 90 countries
Stock markets have fallen around the world after Donald Trump announced his new wave of tariffs – while top Democrats pointed to weak job figures as a sign that Mr Trump's trade war was 'bleeding the economy'. The new levies affect some of the world's poorest countries, as well as raising fears of inflation and price rises in the United States.
Economist
13 minutes ago
- Economist
Trump will not let the world move on from tariffs
When President Donald Trump stood outside the White House on April 2nd and revealed his 'Liberation Day' tariffs, all hell broke loose. The 'reciprocal' levies threatened to break financial markets, as well as scrambling international commerce. Thankfully, Mr Trump quickly backed down, cutting tariffs to 10% for most countries on April 9th and doing the same for China a month later. Markets recovered; uncertainty receded. The world economy tried to move on. Everyone began to lose interest. Everyone, that is, except Mr Trump.
Daily Mirror
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Donald Trump loyalist claims Mexican drug cartels will be 'wiped off the Earth'
Trump loyalist Tom Homan made the comments while talking to reporters and as Americans get more uneasy about the heavy handed tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers Donald Trump's border czar has vowed to wipe the Mexican drug cartels "off the face of the Earth," in a bombastic tirade to reporters. Tom Homan was appointed by Trump in January to oversee a key part of the US Presidents deportation agenda. He said: "Look, under Biden, the cartels made more money than they ever made smuggling aliens, sex trafficking women and children, smuggling dope across the border. Now we have a secure border. Cartels are going bankrupt. And President Trump, through all his efforts and his leadership, we're going to wipe the cartels off the face of the earth, which makes not only this country safer, Mexico safe." His comments came on Wednesday, the day after he went on Fox to defend ICE actions. He reacted to a poll that suggested half of Americans thought immigration enforcement was too aggressive. "If there's any change in the polls on ICE enforcement, it's because they're being fed a false narrative by 95% of the media," Homan told "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday. "70% of the people we're arresting are criminals. Who are the other 30%? [They're] national security threats. We've arrested over 300 Iranian nationals. These are people who are a national security threat based on intelligence, based on other information. These are people we have to take off the street, that we have to deport." This comes as US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) struggles to recruit new agents. Homan served as acting director of the controversial agency from January 30, 2017, to June 29, 2018. They have launched a new campaign to try and lure 'brave and heroic Americans' to serve as new deportation officers. They are promising as much as $50,000 signing bonus thanks to a new massive injection of cash from Congress. The campaign recalls recruiting posters from World War II with images of Uncle Sam and the words 'AMERICA NEEDS YOU.' There also are photos of Trump and top homeland security officials with the words 'DEFEND THE HOMELAND' across the images. 'Your country is calling you to serve at ICE,' said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a news release. 'This is a defining moment in our nation's history. Your skills, your experience, and your courage have never been more essential. Together, we must defend the homeland.' In addition to appealing to prospective applicants' patriotic fervor, Homeland Security is making a pocketbook pitch. The agency is promising up to $50,000 in signing bonuses, the potential for lots of overtime for deportation officers and other benefits such as loan repayment or forgiveness options. The agency said it will advertise at college campuses, job fairs and law enforcement networks, starting this week. But the recruiting drive has raised concerns about what happens if the agency grows too fast.
