U.S. says document on trade deal with Japan to be issued in weeks
Lutnick's comment came after the United States failed to properly implement a trade deal it struck with Japan about a month ago when President Donald Trump's country-specific tariffs entered into force on Aug. 7, as part of the "reciprocal" levy scheme.
When asked about the time frame during a CNBC interview, Lutnick said U.S. officials are working on written documents "every night and every morning" and that "these are kind of weeks away," without elaborating further.
According to Japanese officials, Trump's trade team has acknowledged that a presidential executive order concerning the reciprocal tariffs was erroneous and did not fully reflect the terms of the July 22 deal with Japan, and it has promised to amend the directive.
Due to the issue, which Japanese officials say occurred during Washington's internal administrative procedures, imports from Japan are not yet given tariff stacking relief on its 15 percent rate.
Under the deal, goods from Japan with preexisting tariffs of 15 percent or higher were supposed to be exempt from any additional duty, and levies on other items should have been capped at 15 percent.
The Trump administration had confirmed Japan would be granted the same exemption as the European Union, which clinched a similar trade deal with the United States a few days after Tokyo, without specifying when it would be implemented.
In return for Japan's pledge to invest heavily in the United States in the coming years, the tariff rate for the country was lowered to 15 percent from the 24 percent Trump initially set in April.
Trump's team has said Japan will invest, at the U.S. president's direction, $550 billion in the United States. Investments would be directed toward areas deemed important for its national security and competition with China, such as the semiconductor and pharmaceutical sectors.
But Japanese officials have explained the figure represents an amount potentially coming from a combination of investments, loans and loan guarantees involving government-backed financial institutions.
They have also said that Japanese companies naturally decide whether to invest in the United States based on their business interests.
Lutnick, however, said during the interview, "We're on the same page" with Japan.
© KYODO
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yomiuri Shimbun
an hour ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Program Born from TICAD Helps Japan Firms Grow in Africa, as Program Alumni Aid in Search for Business Opportunities
YOKOHAMA – Among the programs that have come out of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), the ABE Initiative has been particularly successful in promoting business ties between Japanese people and people from Africa. A representative of a Japanese company, who has been doing business with African participants in the initiative, said program alumni can help discover 'business opportunities.' The representative was speaking at an event on Wednesday on the sideline of TICAD 9, which ends on Aug. 22 in Yokohama. The program, which is sponsored by the Japanese government, has helped** people from Africa to study for master's degrees at Japanese universities and to participate in internship programs at Japanese companies. It aims to develop African workers for business and industry and foster human resources that will bridge Japanese and African businesses. The initiative, officially called the African Business Education Initiative for Youth, was launched at TICAD 5 in 2013. The conference that year was co-hosted by then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Wednesday's event invited representatives of Japanese firms who have ties to program participants, as well as Africans who have participated in the program. At the event, Nobuhiko Matsumoto, director of Assentia Holdings, Inc., shared his company's efforts to capture market share in Africa with the help of ABE Initiative alumni. The company has expanded its self-service laundromat business in Africa by franchising it out. Matsumoto said the business started with a man from Mozambique who had taken part in the program. In Mozambique, many people ask maids to do their laundry, but it costs $6-$7. Matsumoto noted that although it costs more to use a self-service laundromat than in Japan, they are still popular in Mozambique. Matsumoto said that the company aims to open another self-service laundromat in Kenya next month and one in Madagascar within the year. From 2026, it plans to expand the service to seven other countries, including Zambia and Tanzania. ABE Initiative alumni are valuable because they can give companies business opportunities that they may not notice, added Matsumoto. Also on Wednesday, a Kenyan woman reflected on her experience in the initiative. Mary Matogo is a 2018 graduate of the Graduate School of International Relations at the International University of Japan. At the event, Matogo, who currently works at a major trading house in Japan, said the program was 'really transformative.' Thanks to the program, Matogo said she was 'able to gain an understanding of Japanese society' and also form a positive impression of Japanese people. According to the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which organized Wednesday's event, the program has accepted about 1,900 people from all 54 countries on the continent. Two hundred of these participants have been employed by Japanese companies.
Yomiuri Shimbun
an hour ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan Prime Minister Stresses Shift to Investment in Africa, Vows to Assist Development of Nacala Corridor in South
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba emphasized the shift from aid to investment in relations with Africa, at the Public-Private Business Dialogue held at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) on Thursday in Yokohama. 'Nothing sums up the changing relationship between Japan and Africa better than the phrase 'from aid to investment,'' Ishiba said. The first TICAD meeting was held in 1993 to revive international interest in Africa following the end of the Cold War. The focus then was on assisting African countries. On Thursday, however, more than 300 documents for cooperation were presented at a TICAD 9 ceremony, many of them related to economic endeavors. 'So many Japanese companies have pledged their cooperation for the future of Africa,' Ishiba said. 'Japan will accelerate this trend as a reliable partner of Africa.' Ishiba said he had already held bilateral talks with 20 African leaders since Wednesday. Those meetings conveyed the enthusiasm of the people of southern Africa for the development of the Nacala Corridor, he said. Development of the Nacala Corridor connects the landlocked nations of Zambia and Malawi to Mozambique on the eastern coast. 'We fully understand their passionate feelings,' Ishiba said, adding that the Japanese government will work hard to facilitate the corridor's development with the help of the private sector. Ishiba said the vitality of young people in Africa is giving rise to a series of innovation-driven new industries. He also said young Japanese people are identifying needs in Africa and creating new services in the fields of healthcare, agriculture and finance. 'I believe that by bringing together the vitality and creativity of young Africans, the strengths of Africa and the strengths of Japan, and working together to solve social issues, we can create a future of growth,' Ishiba said. Guterres urges investment in climate solution U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for investment in climate solutions in Africa, during a press conference held in Yokohama on Thursday. The United Nations is co-hosting the TICAD 9. 'Africa has everything it takes to become a renewables superpower – from solar and wind to the critical minerals that power clean technologies. Yet it receives a tiny fraction of global renewables investment,' Guterres said. According to Guterres, 600 million people still lack electricity on the continent. He called for mobilizing finance and technology so that Africa's natural wealth benefits African people first. 'We must build a thriving renewables and manufacturing base across the continent,' Guterres said.
Yomiuri Shimbun
2 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
South Korean President Emphasizes Consistency Toward Japan, Cites ‘Responsibility' to Adhere to Previous Agreements
SEOUL — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung considers policy consistency toward Japan to be vital and insists his administration has a 'responsibility' to adhere to previous bilateral agreements – even one he opposed before he became president. During an exclusive interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun in Seoul on Tuesday, Lee did not seek to make historical issues a source of conflict in Japan-South Korea relations, and indicated a willingness to expand cooperation in economic, security and other fields. Nevertheless, Lee said the issues of so-called comfort women and former wartime requisitioned workers from the Korean Peninsula were 'heartbreaking' for the South Korean people, and indicated his hopes that the Japanese side would show consideration for these feelings. Lee indicated his government would stand by the measures worked out in 2023 by the administration of his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, to resolve the issue of lawsuits involving former requisitioned workers. 'Previous presidents also were representatives of the nation selected by the people,' Lee said. 'I cannot reverse agreements that they made or policies that have already been implemented.' Lee explained that his approach sets great store on underlining maintaining consistency in policies and the credibility of his nation. 'The damage to our nation would be immense if others felt that we couldn't be trusted because we overturn our agreements when there's a change in administration,' Lee said during the interview at the presidential palace. In a bid to resolve the issue of lawsuits related to former wartime requisitioned workers, the Yoon administration compiled a plan to have a foundation under the government's umbrella pay the plaintiffs compensation equivalent to the amount that South Korean courts had ordered defendant Japanese companies to pay. Lee was a leader of a left-leaning opposition party at the time. He slammed this policy as 'a path to becoming a subordinate of Japan' and took a noticeably harder line toward Japan. Many members of the Japanese government were concerned that a change in South Korea's government from a conservative camp to a left-wing Lee administration could result in historical issues being dredged up again. However, Lee emphasized that his stance is to uphold the agreements reached with Japan. 'We needed to take up the cudgels when we were an opposition party. But now we have a responsibility in our position as a ruling party,' Lee said. Lee's switch to a more pragmatic approach comes as the global landscape is changing due to factors including the return to office of U.S. President Donald Trump. Lee appears to have reaffirmed the importance of cooperation between Japan and South Korea, which are both U.S. allies and democracies. Since assuming the presidency in June, Lee has indicated his intention to push ahead with a 'two-track' approach to relations with Tokyo that separates cooperation in economic and other fields from potential disagreements such as historical issues. During the interview, Lee praised the 1998 Japan-South Korea Joint Declaration issued by the administrations of then Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and then South Korean leader Kim Dae Jung, which started establishing a framework for a future-oriented bilateral relationship. In that statement, which Lee described as 'the ultimate form of an official announcement on historical issues,' Obuchi expressed his 'deep remorse and heartfelt apology' for Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. However, Lee expressed discontent over the Japanese government's subsequent perception of historical issues. 'It changed haphazardly. It even retreated,' Lee said. 'Many South Korean people think that Japan's attitude to saying sorry may be: 'We apologized once. Why must we apologize again?'' In 2015, the administration of then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and then South Korean President Park Guen-hye reached an agreement confirming that the so-called comfort women issue had been resolved. However, Abe's comment that he was 'not even remotely considering' sending a letter to former comfort women, sparked a wider backlash in South Korea. Lee's remark was apparently made with such events in mind. Lee also indicated he was aware of Japanese criticism that South Korea 'moves the goalposts' on contentious historical issues. 'It's been said that South Korea's position on historical issues shifts whenever there's a change in administration, and there certainly has been a tendency to do that,' Lee admitted. On the topic of bilateral historical issues, Lee added, 'If a dispute emerges, it should be confirmed through an objective and fair process. There's no need to argue over where it was true or not by engaging in a battle of attrition.' A source close to Lee explained, 'His comments reflected his desire for there to be greater understanding of the South Korean people's feelings regarding those historical issues.'
