In phone talks, Ishiba and Trump confirm meeting next week to discuss tariffs
Amid a flurry of negotiations over U.S. tariffs, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump will hold a bilateral meeting next week on the sidelines of the Group of Seven leaders summit in western Canada, the two leaders confirmed in a phone call on Friday night.
'The G7 summit is scheduled for next week, and we have confirmed that a meeting will be held there to further deepen discussions on Japan-U.S. cooperation,' Ishiba told reporters after the call.
During the phone call, which was initiated by the prime minister, the two agreed to accelerate the tariff negotiations as Japan's chief negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, headed to Washington for the sixth round of consultations since talks started in mid-April, Ishiba told reporters after the call.
'Also — though it's a day early — I wanted to say happy birthday, which is another reason I made this call,' Ishiba said. Trump turns 79 on Saturday.
It was the third phone call between the two leaders since late May. Like the previous two conversations , Friday night's call was held while Akazawa was en route to Washington.
In recent weeks, the two countries have accelerated the pace of high-level exchanges involving the series of tariffs imposed by the U.S. since March, which include 25% import levies on automobiles and auto parts, 50% on steel and aluminum, as well as a 10% across-the-board tariff on almost all other exports.
Many observers are anticipating a possible trade deal may emerge when the two leaders meet at the G7 summit. Some press reports had even suggested the prime minister might make a trip to Washington before continuing on to Canada.
But the lack of progress in recent talks have more or less dampened the mood, with both Ishiba and Akazawa saying the two countries have yet to find common ground .
Ishiba said Japan's position remains unchanged in calling for the U.S. to fully abolish them.
Aside from tariffs, the two leaders also exchanged views on Israel's airstrikes against Iran that took place earlier in the day.
'We confirmed our shared understanding that peace and stability in the Middle East are extremely important, and we agreed to continue close communication going forward,' Ishiba said.
Earlier in the day, Ishiba strongly condemned the Israeli strikes in a rare rebuke of a fellow U.S. ally.
'It's absolutely unacceptable that military means were used amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful solution" to the Iranian nuclear issue, Ishiba told reporters. "This is extremely regrettable and we strongly condemn it."
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