Trump announces 'massive' Japan trade deal including 15% tariff
Trump has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive tariffs if they don't strike a deal with the United States by next month.
So far, Trump has only announced pacts with Japan, Britain, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia, while talks continue with other trade partners.
"We just completed a massive Deal with Japan, perhaps the largest Deal ever made," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
Trump said that under the deal, "Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 Billion Dollars into the United States, which will receive 90% of the Profits."
He did not provide further details on the unusual investment plan, but said the deal "will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs."
Japanese imports into the United States were already subject to a 10-percent tariff, which would have risen to 25 percent on August 1 without a deal.
Duties of 25 percent on Japanese autos -- an industry accounting for eight percent of Japanese jobs -- were also already in place, as well as 50 percent on steel and aluminum.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Wednesday in Tokyo that the autos levy was cut to 15 percent.
"We are the first (country) in the world to reduce tariffs on automobiles and auto parts, with no limits on volume," he told reporters.
"We think it is a great achievement that we were able to get the largest cut (in tariffs) among countries which have trade surpluses with the US," he said.
This sent Japanese auto stocks soaring on Wednesday, including Toyota which rocketed more than 12 percent.
US-bound shipments of Japanese cars tumbled 26.7 percent in June, stoking fears that Japan could fall into a technical recession.
Last year vehicles accounted for around 28 percent of Japan's 21.3 trillion yen ($142 billion) of exports to the world's biggest economy.
To Trump's annoyance, US-made cars sell poorly in Japan, with only hundreds sold annually for the likes of General Motors, compared to millions of Toyotas bought by US motorists.
The US president also wanted Japan to increase imports of rice, the price of which has soared in recent months in the Asian giant, and of US oil and gas.
RICE IMPORTS?
But Trump said Tuesday that Japan has agreed to "open their Country to Trade including Cars and Trucks, Rice and certain other Agricultural Products, and other things."
Rice imports are a sensitive issue in Japan, and Ishiba's government -- which lost its upper house majority in elections on Sunday -- had previously ruled out any concessions.
Ishiba, whose future is uncertain following the election, said on Wednesday that the deal does not sacrifice Japan's agricultural sector.
Trump has been under pressure to wrap up trade pacts after promising a flurry of deals ahead of his August 1 tariff deadline.
Earlier on Tuesday, he announced a deal had been reached with the Philippines which would see the country face 19 percent tariffs on its exports.
The White House also laid out details of a deal with Indonesia, which would see it ease critical mineral export restrictions and also face a 19 percent tariff, down from a threatened 32 percent.
Indonesian goods deemed to have been transshipped to avoid higher duties elsewhere, however, will be tariffed at 40 percent, a US official told reporters Tuesday.
After an escalatory tit-for-tat with China, the two major economies agreed to a temporary lowering of tariffs, with another round of negotiations expected next week in Stockholm.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has imposed a sweeping 10 percent tariff on allies and competitors alike, alongside steeper levels on steel, aluminum and autos.
Legal challenges to Trump's non-sectoral tariffs are ongoing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The South African
3 hours ago
- The South African
'There's no white genocide': US lawmaker pleads SA's case amid sanctions bill
US Representative Jonathan L. Jackson, during an address to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has opposed H.R. 2633, the US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act of 2025 that aims to sanction South Africa and some ANC officials. On Wednesday, he said the bill 'does absolutely nothing to advance our bilateral relations with South Africa and in fact threatens to undermine it'. Jackson described the bill as 'not diplomacy' but 'coercion', based on a 'deeply fogged premise' that ignores the complexities and significant progress made together. Jackson stated that there was 'no credibility, no truth to saying white South Africans have experienced genocide'. 'Those were manufactured pictures,' he added, and emphasised the absence of a white genocide in South Africa. Jackson noted South Africa is the largest US trading partner in Africa, with over $20.5 billion (R359 billion) in two-way trade. He described South Africa as a strategic partner and a strong democracy committed to human rights. The two countries cooperate on global issues like health, climate, trade and education, Jackson added, stressing the importance of 'mutual respect' and 'respectful dialogues' to build on progress and yield benefits for both nations. Jackson warned that the proposed bill would increase tensions and undermine the progress South Africa and the US had already made. He urged Congress to allow diplomacy to 'play a central role in resolving political differences' based on international law and respect for sovereignty. He reminded the committee that the US had had relations with South Africa for less than 30 years since apartheid ended, and said South Africa had the right to an independent point of view. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
eNCA
5 hours ago
- eNCA
US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act clears first hurdle
TSHWANE - The US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act has passed through committee and will now make its way to Congress for a vote before it can be approved by the Senate. READ: 'It is a mockery' - ANC slams US move to sanction its officials The bill gives President Donald Trump sweeping authority to impose sanctions on ANC leaders accused of backing America's rivals and acting against American interests. US opinion on South Africa's foreign policy has been negative for some time The Managing Partner of strategic consulting firm, Calabar Africa, Phillip van Niekerk and Hudson Institute Senior Fellow, Joshua Meservey discussed this with eNCA.
Daily Maverick
5 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
US House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee passes first round of anti-SA Bill
The Bill calls for a review of US-SA relations and for sanctions against the South African government and ANC leaders. A Bill that would require the Trump administration to conduct a full review of US-South Africa relations and to identify South African government and ANC leaders eligible for sanctions, passed the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee this week. The committee passed the 'US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act of 2025' by a vote of 34-16, with 28 Republicans and six Democrats supporting it and only Democrats opposing. It will now go to the full House of Representatives, where observers believe it will pass. It envisages SA government and ANC leaders being sanctioned under America's Global Magnitsky Act, which imposes financial and visa restrictions on individuals deemed guilty of human rights abuses or corruption. The Bill would also require the US Administration to determine if South Africa has undermined US national security or foreign policy interests. 'Aligning with America's adversaries' The Bill cites a long list of actions by the ANC government which it says have offended the US, centred on its good relations with Russia, China and Iran, and its hostility to Israel and Taiwan. The Bill was introduced by Texan Republican Ronny Jackson, a firm supporter of President Donald Trump. He told the committee that South Africa, while claiming to be non-aligned, had recently abandoned the US and its allies by increasingly aligning with America's adversaries such as China, Russia, Iran, and Iranian military proxies such as Hamas. He cited SA hosting the Chinese government's Confucius Institutes, conducting military exercises with China and Russia, and its alleged involvement in efforts to downgrade the US dollar. He also said, 'South Africa is systematically going after our partners and allies.' He cited its downgrading of Taiwan's presence in the country, 'falsely accusing the State of Israel of genocide at the illegitimate International Criminal Court and mimicking Iran's disgusting dismissal of the atrocities committed by Hamas on October the 7th' (the date of the attack by Hamas on southern Israel). Jackson said 'extreme politicians from the African National Congress have led efforts to target Afrikaners'. Daily Maverick recently revealed that the America Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) was a significant donor to Jackson, the sponsor of the Bill, and several other members of Congress hostile to SA. Of the six Democrats who voted for the Bill in the Foreign Affairs Committee, Brad Sherman and Jared Moskowitz are known to be strong Israel supporters. Bill Keating and George Latimer represent districts with large Jewish populations and Ted Lieu was born in Taiwan. Gregory Meeks, senior Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee and most other Democrats on the committee, strongly opposed the Bill. Meeks said SA acted as a leader not only among African countries, but also on the world stage – and was this year chairing the G20. The US and SA had a long history of partnership, which the Bill 'will not help to deepen or further'. 'South Africa has taken a number of foreign policy positions that I happen not to agree with. But in mature relations between countries, we can deal with those differences through diplomacy and dialogue. This legislation does just the opposite, taking a heavy hand'. He said, 'President Trump has already disproportionately targeted South Africa. He's done this by trying to embarrass President Ramaphosa in the Oval Office, with faulty evidence of purported atrocities in the country, by instituting an executive order cutting all US assistance in the country, and putting in its place a special refugee resettlement programme for Afrikaners. 'Glaring hypocrisy' 'And at the same time, he's blocking the resettlement of literally all other refugees to the United States… This is glaring hypocrisy.' Jackson's Bill is an updated version of a Bill which was introduced last year, but which ran out of time when Congress ended before elections in November.
