WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump touted “big progress” in tariff talks with Japan on Wednesday, in one of the first rounds of face-to-face negotiations since his barrage of duties on global imports roiled markets and stoked recession fears.
Japan had not expected the president to get involved in Wednesday’s talks, viewing them as a preliminary, fact-finding mission, a sign that Trump wants to keep tight control over negotiations with dozens of countries expected over coming days and weeks.
Tokyo had also been hoping to limit the scope of the talks to trade and investment matters. But announcing his involvement early Wednesday, Trump said thorny issues including the amount Japan pays towards hosting US troops were among discussion topics.
“A Great Honor to have just met with the Japanese Delegation on Trade. Big Progress!” Trump said in a social media message that contained no details of the discussions.
Opposite Trump was Ryosei Akazawa, a close confidant of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba who serves in the relatively junior cabinet position of economic revitalisation minister.
Speaking to reporters after the talks, Akazawa gave few details but said the parties had agreed to hold a second meeting later this month and that Trump had said getting a deal with Japan was a “top priority.”
Exchange rates, which the Trump administration has said Japan and others manipulate to get a trade advantage, were not part of the talks, Akazawa added.
The dollar strengthened against the yen after his remarks on forex, up around 0.5 percent on the day. Tokyo denies it manipulates its yen currency lower to get make its exports cheaper.
Akazawa held a 50-minute meeting with Trump at the White House before another session with his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer that stretched to almost an hour and a half, according to Japanese readouts of the talks.
Japan’s prime minister, who has previously said he won’t rush to reach a deal and does not plan to make big concessions, sounded a more cautious tone speaking to reporters later in Tokyo.
“Of course, the negotiations will not be easy going forward, but President Trump has stated that he wants to give top priority to the talks with Japan,” Ishiba said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni heads to the White House on Thursday to discuss tariffs imposed on the EU with Trump, while Bessent has invited South Korea’s finance minister to Washington for talks next week.
FIRST MOVER ADVANTAGE
Trump has long complained about the US trade deficit with Japan and other countries, saying US businesses have been “ripped off” by trade practices and intentional efforts by other countries to maintain weak currencies.
Japan has been hit with 24 percent levies on its exports to the US although these rates have, like most of Trump’s tariffs, been paused for 90 days. But a 10 percent universal rate remains in place as does a 25 percent duty for cars, a mainstay of Japan’s export-reliant economy.
Bessent has said there is a “first mover advantage” given Washington has said more than 75 countries have requested talks since Trump announced sweeping duties on dozens of countries — both friend and foe — earlier this month.
Akazawa declined to comment on the matter, adding only that he strongly requested a revocation of the tariffs and that he believed Washington wanted to secure a deal in the 90-day window.
Washington is hoping to strike deals with countries that would cover tariffs, non-tariff barriers and exchange rates, Bessent has said, though Tokyo had lobbied to keep the latter separate.
Trump earlier this month lambasted Japan for what he said was a 700 percent tariff on rice, a figure Tokyo disputes. Levies on autos are particularly painful for Japan as they make up nearly a third of shipments to the US, its biggest export market.
Japan hopes that pledges to expand investment in the US will help to convince the US that the allies can achieve a “win-win” situation without tariffs.
Possible Japanese investment in a multi-billion-dollar gas project in Alaska could also feature in tariff negotiations, Bessent said before Wednesday’s talks.
“It sounds like the Trump administration really does want a quick deal, which suggests it will be a less substantive deal,” said Tobias Harris of Japan Foresight, a political risk advisory.
“My baseline is that if the US really starts making demands on agriculture and maybe also on some of the auto regulations, it becomes a lot more contentious and hard to do quickly.”
