Japan asked US not to disadvantage Tokyo under new tariff rules
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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is set to visit the US on March 19.
PHOTO: AFP
TOKYO – Japan has sought assurances from the US that Tokyo will not be put at a disadvantage under Washington’s latest tariff measures, urging that a potential 15 per cent tariff not be applied to Japanese goods, its trade minister said on March 6.
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryosei Akazawa said he made the request during a two-hour meeting in Washington with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
After the US Supreme Court knocked down some of President Donald Trump’s key tariffs in February, the US imposed a new 10 per cent blanket tariff that could rise to 15 per cent, generating new global uncertainty about the trade deals struck in 2025 and the tariff rates importers now face.
Mr Akazawa said both governments reaffirmed their commitment to the 2025 trade deal, which formalised a baseline 15 per cent tariff on nearly all Japanese imports, down from 27.5 per cent on cars and an initially threatened 25 per cent on most other goods.
“We requested that Japan’s treatment under the new tariff rules would not become less favourable than what was agreed (in 2025),” Mr Akazawa said, noting that Mr Trump’s new blanket tariff could otherwise raise costs for certain Japanese export items.
He declined to say how the US side responded.
Mr Akazawa added that he and Mr Lutnick also discussed a series of projects under Japan’s US$550 billion (S$700 billion) investment pledge, as well as cooperation on energy and critical minerals, ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s visit to Washington on March 19.
Japan and the US are working to include a nuclear power project involving Westinghouse in the second round of deals under the investment commitments Tokyo made as part of a US tariff agreement.
In February, they announced the first round of three projects worth a combined US$36 billion, covering offshore drilling, natural gas production and synthetic diamonds.
The US Commerce Department said on social media platform X that Mr Lutnick and Mr Akazawa met for talks on strengthening economic ties following the February investment agreement, with no mention of tariff treatment. REUTERS
