Latest news with #Akazawa
2 hours ago
- Business
Japan, U.S. to Continue Tariff Talks as July Deadline Nears
News from Japan Economy Jun 28, 2025 14:28 (JST) Washington, June 27 (Jiji Press)--Japanese chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Friday, agreeing to continue negotiations to reach a deal that serves the national interests of both sides. Their meeting, which preceded the July 9 expiration of a suspension of the additional U.S. reciprocal tariffs, marked the seventh round of bilateral ministerial talks on high tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Through his repeated visits to the United States, Akazawa, economic revitalization minister, has been urging the U.S. side to review the Trump tariffs. Japan released a statement that the two sides had "a fruitful discussion." But it is unlikely that they filled their gap over key issues including automotive tariffs on imports from Japan. During Friday's 65-minute meeting, Akazawa and Lutnick discussed bilateral trade expansion, nontariff barriers and cooperation in economic security. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
The Mainichi
5 hours ago
- Business
- The Mainichi
Japan wrestling with US tariff talks as July deadline looms
WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- Japanese and U.S. tariff negotiators agreed Friday to continue talks in pursuit of a deal that will be beneficial to both countries, but significant differences apparently remain in areas such as Washington's treatment of its key Asian ally's automotive industry. Japan's government said its top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick held talks in Washington, with each side reaffirming its position during "fruitful" discussions on trade expansion, nontariff measures and economic security cooperation. Akazawa, however, did not meet the press following the tariff meeting as he had done after his previous six with U.S. Cabinet members. He was also hoping to hold another separate meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, but the Japanese government stopped short of saying whether one was arranged. The meeting between Akazawa and Lutnick, which lasted about an hour, took place as U.S. President Donald Trump and his trade team increasingly suggest they could give trading partners that are currently negotiating more time for talks beyond early July, when the administration's 90-day pause on so-called reciprocal tariffs is set to expire. Bessent said Friday that the Trump administration could complete negotiations with key trading partners by Sept. 1. In a Fox Business interview, Bessent said, "I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day" if the United States can make "10 or 12" deals among its 18 highest-priority trading partners and seal "another important 20 relationships" with new agreements. Japan is among the group of 18 trading partners, also including the European Union, India and South Korea, with which the Trump administration has prioritized making deals. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt also said at a press briefing on Thursday that the 90-day pause for negotiations could be extended. On Friday, when asked what he might do with the suspension, set to expire July 9, Trump said, "We can do whatever we want. We could extend it. We could make it shorter." "I'd like to make it shorter. I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: 'Congratulations, you're paying 25 percent,'" he added during a press conference at the White House. Akazawa arrived in Washington on Thursday for his seventh round of ministerial meetings on tariffs. His visit through Saturday comes after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump failed to strike a deal last week when they met on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Canada. The 90-day pause applies only to country-specific tariffs under Trump's reciprocal scheme, covering about 60 trading partners that have notable trade surpluses with the United States. It does not affect his baseline duty of 10 percent, targeting imports globally. Japan is facing an additional country-specific tariff of 14 percent, for a total rate of 24 percent. However, the Trump administration's additional tariffs targeting the automotive industry, which are not subject to the pause, have been a particular concern for Japan. The administration raised the tariff rate on imported passenger vehicles by 25 percentage points to 27.5 percent in early April, a measure that has already severely impacted the industry in Japan.
Kyodo News
7 hours ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
Japan, U.S. agree to continue tariff talks as July deadline looms
KYODO NEWS - 5 hours ago - 04:47 | All, Japan, World Japanese and U.S. negotiators agreed Friday to continue talks toward a tariff deal that will be beneficial to both countries. Japan's government said its top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick held talks in Washington, with each side reaffirming its position during "fruitful" discussions on trade expansion, nontariff measures and economic security cooperation. The meeting between Akazawa and Lutnick, which lasted about an hour, took place as U.S. President Donald Trump and his trade team increasingly suggest they could give trading partners now in talks with Washington more time to negotiate beyond early July, when his administration's 90-day pause on so-called reciprocal tariffs is set to expire. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that the Trump administration could complete negotiations with key trading partners by Sept. 1. In a Fox Business interview, Bessent said, "I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day" if the United States can make "10 or 12" deals among its 18 highest-priority trading partners and seal "another important 20 relationships" with new agreements. Japan is among the 18 trading partners, also including the European Union, India and South Korea, with which the Trump administration has prioritized making deals. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt also said at a press briefing on Thursday that the 90-day pause that Trump put in place to facilitate negotiations could be extended. On Friday, when asked what he might do with the suspension, set to expire July 9, Trump said, "We can do whatever we want. We could extend it. We could make it shorter." "I'd like to make it shorter. I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: 'Congratulations, you're paying 25 percent,'" he added during a press conference at the White House. The Japanese negotiator arrived in Washington on Thursday for his seventh round of ministerial meetings on tariffs with the United States. He could also hold talks later Friday with Bessent. Akazawa's visit through Saturday comes after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump failed to strike a deal on tariffs last week when they met bilaterally on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Canada. The 90-day pause applies only to country-specific tariffs under Trump's reciprocal scheme, covering about 60 trading partners that have notable trade surpluses with the United States. It does not affect his baseline duty of 10 percent, targeting imports from all parts of the world. Japan is facing an additional country-specific tariff of 14 percent, for a total rate of 24 percent. But the Trump administration's additional tariffs targeting the automotive industry, which are not subject to the pause, have been a particular concern for Japan. The administration raised the tariff rate on imported passenger vehicles by 25 percentage points to 27.5 percent in early April, and the move is already hitting the industry hard. Related coverage: U.S. State Secretary Rubio's 1st visit to Japan eyed for July Trump could extend 90-day tariff pause in July, White House says Japan reiterates that higher U.S. auto tariffs are unacceptable
Japan Today
11 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Japan, U.S. agree to continue tariff talks as July deadline looms
Japanese and U.S. negotiators agreed Friday to continue talks toward a tariff deal that will be beneficial to both countries. Japan's government said its top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick held talks in Washington, with each side reaffirming its position during "fruitful" discussions on trade expansion, nontariff measures and economic security cooperation. The meeting between Akazawa and Lutnick, which lasted about an hour, took place as U.S. President Donald Trump and his trade team increasingly suggest they could give trading partners now in talks with Washington more time to negotiate beyond early July, when his administration's 90-day pause on so-called reciprocal tariffs is set to expire. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that the Trump administration could complete negotiations with key trading partners by Sept. 1. In a Fox Business interview, Bessent said, "I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day" if the United States can make "10 or 12" deals among its 18 highest-priority trading partners and seal "another important 20 relationships" with new agreements. Japan is among the 18 trading partners, also including the European Union, India and South Korea, with which the Trump administration has prioritized making deals. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt also said at a press briefing on Thursday that the 90-day pause that Trump put in place to facilitate negotiations could be extended. On Friday, when asked what he might do with the suspension, set to expire July 9, Trump said, "We can do whatever we want. We could extend it. We could make it shorter." "I'd like to make it shorter. I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: 'Congratulations, you're paying 25 percent,'" he added during a press conference at the White House. The Japanese negotiator arrived in Washington on Thursday for his seventh round of ministerial meetings on tariffs with the United States. He could also hold talks later Friday with Bessent. Akazawa's visit through Saturday comes after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump failed to strike a deal on tariffs last week when they met bilaterally on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Canada. The 90-day pause applies only to country-specific tariffs under Trump's reciprocal scheme, covering about 60 trading partners that have notable trade surpluses with the United States. It does not affect his baseline duty of 10 percent, targeting imports from all parts of the world. Japan is facing an additional country-specific tariff of 14 percent, for a total rate of 24 percent. But the Trump administration's additional tariffs targeting the automotive industry, which are not subject to the pause, have been a particular concern for Japan. The administration raised the tariff rate on imported passenger vehicles by 25 percentage points to 27.5 percent in early April, and the move is already hitting the industry hard. © KYODO
The Mainichi
a day ago
- Business
- The Mainichi
Trump could extend 90-day tariff pause in July, White House says
WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- U.S. President Donald Trump could extend his administration's 90-day pause on so-called reciprocal tariffs, set to expire on July 9, the White House said Thursday. As Japan's top tariff negotiator arrived in Washington seeking to hold another round of talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said at a press briefing, "The deadline is not critical." "The president can simply provide these countries with a deal if they refuse to make us one by the deadline, and that means the president can pick a reciprocal tariff rate that he believes is advantageous for the United States," Leavitt added. She said the United States has had "very good and productive discussions with many of our key trading partners." When asked about the pause, she said, "Perhaps it could be extended, but that's a decision for the president to make." Her remarks came as Japan and some other major U.S. trading partners are continuing to negotiate with Trump's trade team to secure concessions on the higher tariffs he has imposed since taking office in January. Among senior officials of the Trump administration, Bessent said publicly for the first time in mid-June that it could roll the pause forward if key U.S. trading partners continue to negotiate "in good faith." Japan's top negotiator, Ryohei Akazawa, arrived in the U.S. capital on Thursday for his seventh round of ministerial tariff negotiations with the United States. Akazawa's visit through Saturday comes after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump failed to strike a deal on tariffs last week when they met bilaterally on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Canada. At the time, Ishiba and Trump agreed ministerial talks for a deal that serves the interests of both Japan and the United States will continue. Trump told reporters hours later that the Japanese are "tough." Upon his arrival at an airport near Washington, Akazawa told reporters, "I want to refrain from commenting on which areas I will strongly emphasize (in the upcoming talks) as that pertains to the specifics of our diplomatic exchanges." The 90-day pause applies to country-specific tariffs under Trump's reciprocal scheme, covering about 60 trading partners that have notable trade surpluses with the United States. It does not affect his baseline duty of 10 percent targeting imports from all parts of the world. Japan is facing an additional country-specific tariff of 14 percent, for a total rate of 24 percent. The Trump administration's additional tariffs targeting the automotive industry is a particular concern for Japan. The administration raised the tariff rate on imported passenger vehicles by 25 percentage points to 27.5 percent in early April, hitting the industry hard. Akazawa has reiterated that the additional tariffs are unacceptable. A Japanese government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "If we can get it down to 10 percent before the upper house election, that would be a big win," referring to the auto tariff rate. Japan's House of Councillors election will be held on July 20. The election will be a critical test for Ishiba, who has been heading a minority government since the ruling coalition lost its majority in the more powerful House of Representatives last October.
