Japan says ‘progress' but no ‘agreement yet' in US tariff talks
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and US President Donald Trump are reportedly planning to hold talks around the time of the G7 summit. (AP pic)
TOKYO : Japan said today it was making 'progress' in talks aimed at easing US President Donald Trump's tariffs but cautioned that the two sides have not found 'a point of agreement yet'.
Japan, a key US ally and its biggest investor, is subject to the same 10% baseline tariffs imposed on most nations plus steeper levies on cars, steel and aluminium.
Trump also announced an additional 24% 'reciprocal' tariff on Japan in early April, but later paused it along with similar measures on other countries until early July.
Japan wants all levies announced by Trump lifted.
During a fifth round of talks, 'we further made progress towards an agreement', Ryosei Akazawa, Tokyo's trade envoy, told Japanese reporters in Washington.
But, he added 'We've not been able to find a point of agreement yet'.
Akazawa said Tokyo was hoping to seal a deal 'as soon as possible', however, talks may still be ongoing when a summit of the Group of Seven wealthy nations starts on June 15.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump are reportedly planning to hold bilateral talks around the time of the G7 summit in Canada.
Washington's 25% auto tariffs are particularly painful for Tokyo, with roughly 8% of all Japanese jobs tied to the sector.
Japan's economy, the world's fourth largest, contracted 0.2% in the first quarter of 2025, adding to pressure on the unpopular Ishiba ahead of upper house elections expected in July.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Vietnam exports up as US tariff threat lingers
HANOI: Vietnam's exports rose sharply last month, official figures showed Friday (June 6), as the communist country tries to negotiate relief from swingeing tariffs threatened by US President Donald Trump. May exports stood at US$39.6 billion, according to data from the General Statistics Office, up 17 percent on the same period a year ago, while the year-to-date total reached US$180.2 billion, 14 percent higher than in 2024. Vietnam, a major centre for global brands producing shoes and clothes, says it is making progress in talks with Washington to head off Trump's threatened 46 percent levy. The Southeast Asian manufacturing hub has the third-biggest trade surplus with the United States after China and Mexico, putting it in the firing line for Trump's "Liberation Day" global tariff blitz. Vietnam's overall import-export turnover stood at $78.6 billion in May, 15.5 percent higher than the same month last year. Imports were up by 14.1 percent year on year to stand at $39 billion in May. Processed industrial goods dominated exports, while imports were led by production materials. Despite the tariff uncertainty, the United States remained Vietnam's number one export market with $57 billion in the first five months of 2025 -- up from $44 billion over the same period a year ago. Vietnamese and US trade negotiators meeting in Paris this week agreed to step up the pace of their talks. Vietnam has signed several agreements to buy hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of agricultural products and other raw materials from the United States as it seeks to rebalance their trading partnership. Trump's real estate group also broke ground last month on a $1.5-billion luxury golf resort in Vietnam, while his son Eric Trump has been scouting locations for a potential tower project in Ho Chi Minh City, the country's southern business hub. - AFP
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
US cuts chinese medicine purchases threefold in April
MOSCOW: The United States drastically cut down the purchase of Chinese medicines in April, with imports in monetary terms showing a threefold drop to US$173.6 million compared to March, RIA Novosti calculations based on US customs data revealed on Sunday. The shipments of Iodine drugs made up the largest share of supplies in April, accounting for 75 per cent of Chinese medicine exports to the US. Additionally, antibiotics (9.5 per cent) and hormonal products (4.4 per cent ) also accounted for significant volumes of shipments in money. The major sellers of drugs to the US in April were India (19 per cent of US imports), Ireland (14 per cent) and Switzerland (13 per cent). China, with a 12 per cent share, ranked 12th, along with Hungary, Denmark and Japan. China and the US are now essentially in a state of trade war, which erupted after US President Donald Trump imposed a 10 per cent tariffs on imports of all Chinese goods in February, raising it to 20 per cent in March. After several reciprocal measures, the US tariff against Chinese goods reached 145 per cent, and the rate for US suppliers to China hit 125 per cent. However, already in mid-May, China and the US mutually reduced trade tariffs to 10 per cent, from May 14 for 90 days. Consequently, China started imposing a 10 per cent tariff on US imports, while the US levied a 30 per cent tariff on Chinese products as the 20 per cent "fentanyl" tariff remained in effect. In late spring, the sides accused each other of violating preliminary agreements.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
US Warns UK Against Approving New Chinese Embassy in London
MOSCOW: The United States warned British authorities against allowing the opening of a new Chinese embassy in London because of its planned location near the country's important financial centres, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti quoting The Times newspaper, citing sources. The Chinese government purchased a historic building in London six years ago, which used to house the Royal Mint, but has still not been able to obtain permission to open a new embassy there. In January, the Financial Times reported that the UK might allow China to open Europe's largest embassy with a number of conditions. 'The United States is deeply concerned about providing China with potential access to the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies,' a senior US official told the publication. The building where Beijing wants to open the embassy is located between financial centres, as well as next to three important data centres, the newspaper emphasised. According to the publication, US President Donald Trump previously called on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to deny Beijing the opening of an embassy; the issue was raised during trade negotiations. According to the publication's sources, if this embassy is opened, the Trump administration will have concerns about the transfer of intelligence information to the UK. China's plans to build a new Chinese embassy building in the London borough of Tower Hamlets have recently become a separate topic of disagreement between Beijing and London. Local authorities, citing security concerns, refused building permission back in 2022, but in July 2024, Beijing submitted a new application. In December, the London Standard reported that Tower Hamlets Council had unanimously voted against opening a new Chinese embassy building on its territory.
