AsianFin -- Japan’s top trade negotiator and Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa on Friday indicated the country is seeking a trade deal to avoid higher auto tariffs that the U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose.
Credit：the Global Times
Japanese and U.S. officials explored “had a very detailed exchange and explored the possibility of a trade agreement”, said Akazawa in a briefing after he met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick separately in Washington in a sixth round of tariff negotiations.
"To achieve an agreement that is mutually beneficial, we engaged in very in-depth discussions with the two ministers and explored the possibility of reaching an agreement,” Akazawa told reporters. "We further deepened discussions on issues such as expanding bilateral trade, nontariff measures and cooperation on economic security.”
Akazawa said Japan is trying to avoid the auto tariffs going even higher via its bilateral talks with the U.S., without offering details of specifics of the latest negotiations. Japan is looking for a written agreement with the U.S., which will allow the country to be exempted from extra tariffs on various sectors such as the auto industry, reported Japanese newspaper Mainichi on Friday.
Trump on Thursday floated raising auto tariffs soon as the levies he has slapped on automobile imports are leading to more investments into U.S. "I might go up with that tariff in the not too distant future," Trump said at a White House event. "The higher you go, the more likely it is they build a plant here."
Akazawa declined to comment on whether a path toward a deal is in sight, stating a deal is possible only when the leaders of both countries approve everything as a package. He noted Bessent didn’t bring up extension of a July 9 deadline for trade talks.
Prior to the latest round of negotiations, Akazawa said he was aware of Bessent’s suggestion that U.S. could extend the deadline to return across-the-board tariffs to original rates, which would mean a bump to 24% from 10% for Japan.
Bessent during a Congress hearing on Wednesday emphasized that he’s focused on negotiations with the 18 U.S. trading partners who account for 90% of the trade, and indicated that regional deals are possible with smaller countries. Questioned about whether the so-called reciprocal tariffs would enter effect when a 90-day pause ends, Bessent responded the Trump administration is “highly likely” to delay tariffs for countries involved in good-faith trade talks.
"It is highly likely that those countries - or trading blocs as is the case with the EU - who are negotiating in good faith, we will roll the date forward to continue the good-faith negotiations," Bessent told House of Representatives. ”If someone is not negotiating, then we will not.” Bessent thus became the first senior Trump official that has indicated some flexibility for the tariff pause.
Akazawa on Friday also refrained from commenting on if Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump may announce a deal on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) gathering in Canada starting Sunday.
Earlier Friday, Ishiba told reporters he and Trump will hold a bilateral meeting next week on the sidelines of the G7 leasers summit in Canada following a phone call between two leaders. “The G7 summit is scheduled for next week, and we have confirmed that a meeting will be held there to further deepen discussions on Japan-U.S. cooperation,” Ishiba said.
Ishiba spoke to Trump for around 20 minutes in the call and reiterated Japan’s vies on the U.S. tariffs measures, taking into account the results of the Japan-U.S. Consultations on the U.S. Tariff Measures to date, according to a statement from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The two leaders concurred to accelerate the consultations between the ministers in charge in order to achieve a mutually beneficial agreement for both Japan and the U.S., per the statement.
