Trump joins tariff talks with Japan as US seeks deals amid trade wars
[April 17, 2025] WASHINGTON
(AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday inserted himself directly
into trade talks with Japanese officials, a sign of the high stakes for
the United States after its tariffs rattled the economy and caused the
administration to assure the public that it would quickly reach deals.
The Republican president attended the meeting alongside Treasury
Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, top
economic advisers with a central role in his trade and tariff policies.
“Hopefully something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan
and the USA!” Trump wrote in a social media post ahead of the meeting.
Afterward, he posted: “A Great Honor to have just met with the Japanese
Delegation on Trade. Big Progress!”
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters Thursday in Tokyo
that his chief trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, told him from
Washington that the talks were “very candid and constructive.”
“Of course the talks are not easy, but President Trump stated his
intention to make this negotiation a top priority,” Ishiba said. “I
believe we had talks that lead to a next step.”
Ishiba said he will closely watch how ministerial talks go and plans to
visit Washington to meet with Trump at an appropriate time.
Trump's choice to get directly involved in negotiations points to his
desire to quickly finalize a slew of trade deals as China is pursuing
its own set of agreements. It's an open test of Trump's reputation as a
dealmaker as countries around the world seek to limit the potential
damage unleashed by his import taxes.
The sweeping tariffs that Trump announced on April 2 triggered panic in
the financial markets and generated recession fears, causing the U.S.
president to quickly put a partial 90-day hold on the import taxes and
increase his already steep tariffs against China to as much as 145%.
The pause temporarily spared Japan from 24% across-the-board tariffs,
but there continues to be a 10% baseline tariff and a 25% tax on
imported cars, auto parts, steel and aluminum exports.
With Japan charging an average tax rate of 1.9% on other countries'
goods and having a longstanding alliance with the U.S., the talks on
Wednesday are a crucial indicator of whether the Trump administration
can achieve a meaningful deal that reassures the markets, American
voters and foreign allies.
U.S. economic rival China, meanwhile, is trying to capitalize on the
turmoil around Trump's announcements, with its leader, President Xi
Jinping, touring nations of Southeast Asia and promoting his country as
a more reliable trade partner.
Japan is among the first countries to start open negotiations with the
U.S. Trump and other administration officials have said the phones have
been “ringing off the hook” with dozens of countries calling, eager to
strike deals with a president who views himself as a master negotiator
to avoid tariffs when the 90-day pause ends. Israel and Vietnam have
offered to zero out their tariff rates, but Trump has been noncommittal
as to whether that would be sufficient.
On Thursday, Trump is scheduled to meet with Italian Prime Minister
Giorgia Meloni, who will likely be carrying messages on behalf of the
European Union about how to resolve the tariffs Trump placed on the
27-state group.
Still, the U.S. president may also be feeling increased domestic
pressures to settle any tariffs as many voters say they returned Trump
to the White House with the specific goal of improving the economy.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom filed a lawsuit Wednesday that argues that
Trump overstepped his authority by declaring an economic emergency to
levy his tariffs, with the Democrat saying in a statement that the
tariffs have caused economic chaos.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that Trump's tariff
policies would hurt the U.S. economy, a direct warning to a White House
trying to sell the import taxes as a long-term positive for the country.
[to top of second column] |
President Donald Trump gestures to the crowd as he departs after
welcoming the 2025 College Football National Champions, the Ohio
State University football team, during an event on the South Lawn of
the White House, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP
Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
 “The level of tariff increases
announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated, and the
same is likely to be true of the economic effects which will include
higher inflation and slower growth,” Powell said at the Economic
Club of Chicago.
Japan, like many other nations trying to minimize
the possible economic fallout from Trump's tariffs, has been
scrambling to respond. It has set up a special task force to assess
the impact of the tariffs and offer loans to anxious companies.
Although Ishiba has been working hard to coax exemptions out of
Trump, the government has said little officially on what concessions
it might offer during these talks.
Nor has the administration been transparent about its asks. The
Trump administration is seeking to close the $68.5 billion trade
deficit with Japan and seeking greater access for U.S. goods in
foreign markets, yet the president has also insisted that tariff
revenues can be used to pay down the federal budget deficit.
“Japan is coming in today to negotiate Tariffs, the cost of military
support, and ‘TRADE FAIRNESS,’” Trump posted Wednesday.
Japan has contended that Trump's tariff measures are likely to
violate bilateral trade agreements or World Trade Organization
rules. While Ishiba has said he opposes retaliatory tariffs, he also
has said he is in no rush to push for a settlement because he
doesn't want concessions.
Xi, meanwhile, stopped in Malaysia on Wednesday and told its leader
that China will be a collaborative partner and stand with its
Southeast Asian neighbors after the global economic shocks.
Xi is touring Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia this week on a trip
that likely was planned before the tariffs' uncertainty but that
he's also using to promote Beijing as a source of stability in the
region and shore up relationships in that part of the world as he
looks for ways to mitigate the 145% tariffs that Trump is keeping on
China.
“In the face of shocks to global order and economic globalization,
China and Malaysia will stand with countries in the region to combat
the undercurrents of geopolitical ... confrontation, as well as the
counter-currents of unilateralism and protectionism,” Xi said in
remarks at a dinner with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“Together, we will safeguard the bright prospects of our Asian
family,” he added.
Xi has promised Malaysia and Vietnam greater access to Chinese
markets on his visits, although few details were shared.
In Washington, Trump has indicated that he also wants to discuss how
much the Japanese contribute to the cost of U.S. troops stationed
there, largely as a deterrent to China.
Trump’s demand for more defense spending concerns the Japanese
government.
Under its national security strategy, Japan aims to double annual
defense spending to nearly $10 trillion, or 2% of GDP, in 2027,
while there is a concern that Trump may ask for that to be increased
to 3% of GDP. Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Tuesday
that the military budget for this year is about 1.8% of Japan’s GDP.
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Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo.
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