Donald Trump says US has struck trade deal with Japan, claims $840b investment from Asian ally to come
In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump added that Japan would open to trade for cars, trucks, rice and certain agricultural products, among other items.
"This Deal will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs — There has never been anything like it," Mr Trump posted on Truth Social.
He added that the US would "continue to always have a great relationship with the Country of Japan".
Mr Trump said Japan would invest "at my direction" $US550 billion into the US and would "open" its economy to American automobiles and rice.
The 15 per cent tax on imported Japanese goods was a meaningful drop from the 25 per cent rate that Mr Trump, in a recent letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, said would be levied from August 1.
His announcement follows a meeting with Japan's top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, at the White House on Tuesday, according to the Asahi newspaper.
The newspaper also reported that Mr Akazawa held meetings with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is planning to soon decide whether to step down after assessing progress in tariff negotiations with the US, Yomiuri newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Mr Ishiba is facing growing opposition from within his Liberal Democratic Party for his vow to stay in power despite the ruling coalition's bruising defeat in Sunday's upper house election.
According to Yomiuri, Mr Ishiba told his close associates on Tuesday evening that he would explain how he would take responsibility for the election loss once a solution was reached on trade negotiations.
Speaking after Mr Trump's post, Ishiba said he was ready to meet or speak over the phone with Trump after being briefed on the details by Japan's top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa, who has been in Washington for trade talks.
"I can't say until I scrutinise the outcome of the agreement," Mr Ishiba told reporters when asked how the deal with Washington could affect his decision on whether to step down.
In explaining his decision to stay on, Mr Ishiba has stressed the need to avoid creating a political vacuum as Japan faces challenges including difficult trade negotiations with the US that would have a huge impact on the export-reliant economy.
"I will stay in office and do everything in my power to chart a path toward resolving these challenges," Mr Ishiba said in a news conference on Monday.
He added that he intended to speak directly with Mr Trump as soon as possible and deliver tangible results.
Mr Ishiba is expected to meet ruling party heavyweights later on Wednesday for discussions on the election outcome.
The wave of tariffs continues to be a source of uncertainty in the US about whether it could lead to higher prices for consumers and businesses if companies simply pass along the costs.
As the August 1 deadline for the tariff rates in his letters to world leaders approached, Mr Trump also announced a trade framework with the Philippines that would impose a tariff of 19 per cent on its goods, while American-made products would face no import taxes.
The president also reaffirmed his 19 per cent tariffs on Indonesia.
At a dinner on Tuesday, local time, Mr Trump said the EU would be in Washington today for trade talks.
Earlier this month, the president sent a letter threatening the 27 member states in the EU with 30 per cent taxes on their goods, to be imposed starting on August 1.
The Trump administration has a separate negotiating period with China that is currently set to run through August 12 as goods from that nation are taxed at an additional 30 per cent baseline.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would be in the Swedish capital of Stockholm next Monday and Tuesday to meet with his Chinese counterparts.
Mr Bessent said his goal was to shift the American economy away from consumption and to enable more consumer spending in the manufacturing-heavy Chinese economy.
"President Trump is remaking the US into a manufacturing economy," Mr Bessent said on the Fox Business Network show Mornings with Maria.
"If we could do that together, we do more manufacturing, they do more consumption. That would be a home run for the global economy."
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It eventually bought a little more than half what it had agreed to. Japan can slow-walk the handing over of the funds, knowing that, if it stretches the process out, a new administration in 2029 might have different views on trade. The investment agreement, apparently the brainchild of the Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick as it became clear that Japan wasn't going to accede to Trump's most aggressive demands for market access, is a peculiar one if Trump's aim is, as he has always claimed, to reduce America's trade deficit. If Japan were to actually deliver $US550 billion of new capital inflows to the US, it would increase the trade deficit, not decrease it. It would also probably help push up the value of the US dollar, which has been tumbling, making US exports less competitive in international markets. Did anyone explain that to Trump? Trump says there's never been anything like the deal with Japan. 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