Latest news with #AkazawaRyosei
NHK
8 hours ago
- Business
- NHK
US signals extension of tariff deal deadline
US President Donald Trump's top official for trade negotiations has hinted at an extension of the deadline to work out deals. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he hopes they can ink the agreements by September 1. Bessent told Fox Business on Friday that a lot of the countries are "feeling pressure" to get a deal done, as the 90-day pause on what Trump calls "reciprocal tariffs" ends on July 9. Bessent said the US has "18 important trading partners," and is seeking to wrap up deals with 10 or 12 of them. He added that they hope to make an agreement with another 20 by Labor Day, which is September 1. Trump told reporters on Friday the July deadline remains flexible. He 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 later announced on social media that his administration has terminated "all discussions" with Canada over its plans to tax US technology firms. He said new tariffs will be imposed soon. Japanese negotiators are still working to cement a deal. Economic Revitalization Minister Akazawa Ryosei is in Washington for a seventh round of talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. They agreed to continue to work hard towards an agreement.
NHK
a day ago
- Business
- NHK
Lutnick says US will soon announce series of trade deals
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says the US is set to reach new agreements with many of its trading partners. "We're going to announce a whole bunch of deals over the next week or so," he said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Thursday. He said there will be one category for what he called the top 10 agreements, and others in different groups. He added that President Donald Trump is going to close the deals himself. Lutnick indicated agreements will be signed by July 9th, or when a 90-day pause on what Trump calls "reciprocal tariffs" ends. He gave no details on whether Japan is in the top 10 group or what criteria is used to define the categories. Japan's trade tariff negotiator Akazawa Ryosei is in Washington for talks with Lutnick and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
NHK
2 days ago
- Business
- NHK
Japan's top negotiator to head to US for another round of tariff talks
Japanese Economic Revitalization Minister Akazawa Ryosei will leave for Washington on Thursday for another round of negotiations on US tariff measures. Arrangements are underway for Akazawa, who is Japan's top negotiator in the talks, to meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and others during the four-day trip. It will be his seventh trip there for tariff negotiations. Ahead of his departure, Akazawa met with Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa on Wednesday to confirm principles for the negotiations. Akazawa said he has done various preparations, such as making materials available to try to win over the US negotiators. The two countries have yet to bridge their gap on auto tariffs and other issues. Ishiba and US President Donald Trump met on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit meeting in Canada earlier this month. But they failed to reach an agreement. Given the situation, Akazawa is expected to once again tell the US side that Japan intends to help cut America's trade deficit through massive investments and by increasing imports, and urge the US to lower tariffs on automobile imports. The Japanese government aims to agree on a package agreement with the US. The focus is on whether the two sides will be able to move closer together on auto tariff rates.
NHK
20-06-2025
- Business
- NHK
Middle East tensions force Japan into tariff-talk rethink
Tensions in the Middle East are forcing Japan to rethink its strategy in tariff talks with the United States. Government sources point to concerns about the Trump administration being too busy with the conflict between Israel and Iran. Officials in Tokyo are looking at when the next round of tariff negotiations should be. They are also assessing the recent summit between Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and US President Donald Trump in Canada. Japan's chief tariff negotiator Akazawa Ryosei admitted to feeling a great deal of uncertainty about future negotiations. The two sides still need to narrow their differences on tariffs for automobiles and other items. Ishiba is scheduled to visit the Netherlands next week for a summit with NATO. Sources say he is not planning to meet Trump on the sidelines.
NHK
15-06-2025
- Business
- NHK
Japan tariff negotiator speaks by phone with US commerce secretary
Japan's chief tariff negotiator Akazawa Ryosei and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have spoken by phone to explore the possibility of reaching an agreement. They talked for about 30 minutes on Saturday. Akazawa is currently in Washington for negotiations on US tariff measures. The discussions were held with an eye toward the planned upcoming meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and US President Donald Trump. It is scheduled to take place on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada. The phone conversation between Akazawa and Lutnick followed their in-person meeting the previous day. On Friday, they discussed such matters as trade expansion, non-tariff measures and cooperation in economic security. Ishiba is set to leave Japan for Canada on Sunday.
