Trump tariffs may remain in effect while appeals proceed, US court rules
(Reuters) -- A federal appeals court allowed President Donald Trump's most sweeping tariffs to remain in effect on Tuesday while it reviews a lower-court decision blocking them on grounds that he had exceeded his authority by imposing them.
The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington means Trump may continue to enforce, for now, his "Liberation Day" tariffs on imports from most U.S. trading partners, as well as a separate set of tariffs levied on Canada, China and Mexico.
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Kyodo News
an hour ago
- Kyodo News
Japan PM hopes for progress in U.S. tariff talks, in no rush for deal
KYODO NEWS - 5 hours ago - 14:37 | All, World, Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday that Japan aims to make progress in ongoing tariff negotiations with the United States but will not sacrifice its national interests to reach a deal quickly. Ishiba made the remarks ahead of a possible meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of a Group of Seven leaders' summit to be held in Canada from Sunday. Japan's chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa is expected to hold another round of negotiations with the United States on Friday, setting the stage for the meeting between the leaders. Through rounds of ministerial negotiations, Japan has been urging the United States, its closest ally, to rethink its tariff policy and to explore a deal that can be mutually beneficial. Ishiba has made the case that increased Japanese investment will help create jobs in the United States. "It'd be good to see certain progress made before meeting with the president at the G7. But what matters is a deal that benefits both Japan and the United States," Ishiba told reporters. "We will not prioritize reaching a deal quickly and undermine national interests," he added. Ishiba's remarks came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a key figure in the bilateral tariff talks, said Wednesday the United States could extend its current 90-day pause on the implementation of "reciprocal" tariffs if trading partners engage in negotiations "in good faith." The pause, if not extended, would expire in early July. Trump separately said his administration is prioritizing negotiations with key trading partners like Japan and South Korea, adding that it will send out letters in "about a week and a half to two weeks" to inform them of what their trade deals would look like. Ahead of his planned trip to Canada, Ishiba held talks with leaders from the opposition bloc to share the status of bilateral tariff negotiations and explain how his government is approaching the challenge, the prime minister told reporters. The imposition of higher U.S. tariffs on imported cars, auto parts, steel and aluminum has already caused uncertainty about how Japan's export-driven economy will fare. Japan also faces a reciprocal tariff rate of 24 percent, including the 10 percent baseline duty already in place. Related coverage: Bessent says 90-day tariff pause could be extended for key partners Japan, U.S. eye Ishiba-Trump summit in Canada on G7 margins Japan's top negotiator eyes U.S. trip this week for 6th tariff talks
Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
India should join the Global Combat Air Program — but not just yet
As the world learns to navigate an era of volatile American politics, global defense partnerships are being reshaped. Donald Trump's chaotic return to the White House has called into question America' reliability as a security guarantor and U.S. allies are seeking new forms of international cooperation. An ambitious expression of this shift is the Global Combat Air Program, a joint effort between Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy to develop a next-generation fighter jet by 2035. GCAP is more than just a weapons platform. It is a statement of strategic autonomy, industrial innovation and trilateral cooperation among democracies that are, each in their own way, redefining their role on the global stage. And now, as reports emerge that Japan and India have discussed possible Indian participation in GCAP, the project stands at a potential inflection point. The idea of including India — one of the world's fastest-growing economies and an increasingly assertive geopolitical actor — makes strategic sense. But it also presents diplomatic and practical challenges that cannot be ignored. As with many promising international endeavors, timing is everything. Opening for Japan-India ties India's inclusion in GCAP could offer a breakthrough in Japan-India relations. Over the past two decades, the Asian nations have built a robust security partnership. From the 2008 Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation to more recent agreements on defense-equipment acquisitions and the sharing of sensitive security information, Tokyo and New Delhi have grown comfortable with each other in the defense realm. Joint military exercises are now routine and there is a shared interest in counterbalancing China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. Yet this bilateral relationship has stalled in recent years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's failure to visit Japan in 2024 broke an established pattern, and with India now positioning itself as the de facto leader of the Global South, Japan may be losing relative importance in New Delhi's strategic calculus. Including India in GCAP could re-energize this relationship by offering a high-stakes, high-visibility partnership that aligns with India's long-term security and technological ambitions. For Japan, whose defense industry has long struggled under strict export controls, GCAP represents a rare opportunity to lead in a collaborative international project. Since Japan revised its arms transfer policy in 2014, and especially after its 2024 decision to allow exports of finished defense products under GCAP, it has cautiously moved toward becoming a more active player in global defense markets. Including India could bring financial investment, manufacturing capacity and political clout to the initiative. Lessons of the past However, the road to integrating India into such a high-technology, multinational defense program is strewn with potential pitfalls. Japan — and its British and Italian partners — must approach the issue with cautious optimism rather than uncritical enthusiasm. India's track record in defense negotiations is complex, often fraught with delays, policy reversals and insistent demands for domestic production and technology transfer. A previous fighter-jet purchase by New Delhi stands as a cautionary tale. After years of negotiations, India abandoned its Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft tender competition, which intended to supply its air force with 126 fighters. It ultimately settled for 36 jets under new terms with the winner, Dassault of France — hardly a model of streamlined procurement. Japan has its own bitter experience. Talks over the amphibious U.S.-2 search and rescue aircraft, once hailed as a landmark opportunity for Japanese defense exports, fizzled after years of talks due to cost concerns. And in the economic sphere, skeptics can point to India's withdrawal from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in 2019 — despite Tokyo's encouragement — citing unresolved trade imbalances and geopolitical concerns. These cases point to a broader reality: India negotiates hard, takes its time and rarely yields on its demands for strategic autonomy. This negotiating culture, while entirely within India's rights as a sovereign nation, may be fundamentally at odds with the pace and structure of GCAP, which is already a delicate balancing act among three countries with differing defense needs and industrial capacities. A future invitation The GCAP's schedule is ambitious. Japan aims to replace its aging F-2 fighters by 2035 and any delay in production or development could leave a gap in national defense readiness. Integrating a new partner like India at this stage — especially one likely to demand significant changes to project structure, technology-sharing agreements and production timelines — could threaten that schedule. Moreover, the three current partners are still ironing out key elements, including industrial roles and manufacturing bases. The recently created GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO), headquartered in the U.K. but headed by former Japanese Vice Defense Minister Masami Oka, is just beginning to establish the governance structure for this complex collaboration. To bring India into the project now would almost certainly add complications. A protracted negotiation could not only jeopardize the project timeline but also fray relations among the current trio. Worse still, if talks were to collapse — as happened with RCEP or the U.S.-2 — the diplomatic fallout could damage the Japan-India relationship rather than enhance it. That's why timing is key. While India should be considered a prospective partner, this should be done at a later, more stable stage in the GCAP's development. Once the project has passed the foundational design and industrial division phases — perhaps around 2027 or 2028 — it may be more feasible to expand the partnership. At that point, India's involvement could be structured in a modular way, perhaps focusing on production, systems integration or joint exports to third countries rather than full-scale co-development from the ground up. The broader strategic picture Inviting India to join GCAP — eventually — would send a powerful message about the resilience and adaptability of democratic defense partnerships. It would align with the growing convergence between India and the West, particularly as China's influence looms large and the United States vacillates between engagement and retrenchment. That said, this must be done with the clarity that strategic alignment cannot come at the cost of operational failure. GCAP is too important and too delicate to risk being overwhelmed by difficult negotiations or mismatched expectations. The priority now must be maintaining GCAP's momentum and cohesion. Tokyo, London and Rome should continue quiet consultations with New Delhi, keeping the option open and signaling a willingness to explore future cooperation. India, with its ambition, industrial potential and rising global stature is a natural candidate for eventual participation in a program like GCAP — but not just yet. Tomoko Kiyota is an associate professor at Nagasaki University.
Kyodo News
2 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Bessent says 90-day tariff pause could be extended for key partners
By Takuya Karube, KYODO NEWS - 9 hours ago - 10:24 | All, World The United States could extend a 90-day pause on the implementation of steep tariffs on goods from its major trading partners if they continue to negotiate "in good faith," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday. "It is highly likely that those countries -- or trading blocs as is the case with the EU -- who are negotiating in good faith, we will roll the date forward to continue the good-faith negotiations," Bessent said during a congressional hearing. "If someone is not negotiating, then we will not." Bessent made the remarks when asked about the upcoming end of the pause in early July, while reiterating that President Donald Trump's administration has been in talks on deals with 18 important trading partners. Japan is one such partner that has been negotiating with the Trump administration at a fast pace, given that Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump are slated to hold a one-on-one meeting in less than a week when they attend a Group of Seven summit in Canada. Japan's chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa is due to hold his sixth round of talks with U.S. Cabinet members on Friday in a last-ditch effort to find common ground before the G7 summit. It will be Akazawa's fourth straight week visiting Washington. Bessent's remarks marked the first time a high-ranking official of the administration has publicly hinted at its readiness to push the deadline beyond 90 days. Later Wednesday, Trump, who unveiled his so-called reciprocal "Liberation Day" tariffs on April 2, told reporters, "I would but I don't think we're going to have that necessity," when asked about the possibility of extending the pause. It remains uncertain if the latest remarks by Trump and Bessent, a central figure dealing with tariff issues, will change the pace of the ongoing talks with Japan and some other trading partners. So far, the Trump administration has not reached as many agreements as it initially hoped. During the window for negotiations, the administration has been particularly focused on clinching trade deals with Japan and other major trading partners, including India, South Korea and the European Union. On Wednesday, Trump reaffirmed that the administration's priority remains unchanged, saying it is engaging with Japan, South Korea and other key trading partners. He added the administration does not have time to deal with more than 150 other countries, seen as less important for the United States, so it will unilaterally send out letters in "about a week and a half to two weeks" to inform them of what their trade deals would look like. He said they could accept or ignore the letters. The pause, which runs until July 8, only applies to country-specific tariffs under his reciprocal scheme, covering about 60 trading partners that have notable trade surpluses with the United States. It does not affect his baseline duty of 10 percent targeting imports from all parts of the world. Japan is facing an additional country-specific tariff of 14 percent, for a total rate of 24 percent. On top of the reciprocal tariffs, Japan, along with other countries, has been subject to new sector-specific tariffs on products such as automobiles and steel, which fall outside the scope of the pause. Ishiba and Akazawa have repeatedly said they will not rush into a deal with the United States at the expense of Japan's national interests. The two have urged the Trump administration to remove all of its additional tariffs on Japanese imports. But they have also suggested the need to reach some agreement with the administration as quickly as possible to prevent the measures from further impacting the Japanese economy. Related coverage: U.S., China agree on framework to implement Geneva trade accord Japan, U.S. eye Ishiba-Trump summit in Canada on G7 margins Japan, EU eye launch of "competitive alliance" scheme to boost trade
