Trump announces massive Japan trade deal with $550B investment
The agreement comes just days before an August 1 deadline, after which the US threatened to impose higher tariffs on countries failing to negotiate new trade terms. Japan faced potential auto tariff increases from 10% to 25%, but under the new deal, levies on vehicles will drop to 15%.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba confirmed the reduction, which sent shares of major automakers like Toyota and Mitsubishi surging by 14%. The Nikkei index also rose 3.5%. 'We continued negotiations to meet the national interest of both Japan and the United States,' Ishiba said.
However, Japan's trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa clarified that 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium remain unchanged. Increased defense spending, a key demand from Trump, was also excluded from the agreement.
The deal includes expanded US agricultural exports, particularly rice—a sensitive issue in Japan. Ishiba assured that Japan's agricultural sector would not be 'sacrificed,' with additional imports staying within WTO commitments.
Business leaders cautiously welcomed the deal, though some demanded more details. Tatsuo Yasunaga of the Japan Foreign Trade Council called it a 'major milestone' but stressed the need for clarity on its full impact.
Public reaction in Japan was mixed. 'It's disappointing that Japan cannot act more strongly,' said Naomi Omura, an 80-year-old voter. Meanwhile, Tetsuo Momiyama, 81, criticized Ishiba's leadership, saying, 'It's good timing for him to go.' Reports suggest Ishiba may resign following recent election losses.
Trump also announced a smaller tariff reduction for the Philippines, another US ally, but negotiations with China, Canada, Mexico, and the EU remain unresolved. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to meet Chinese officials next week in Stockholm.
China responded cautiously, with foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun stating, 'China supports equal dialogue to solve trade issues.' - AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Epstein furor undermining public trust, Republican election hopes, two US lawmakers say
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The uproar over disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein could undermine public trust in the Trump administration, as well as Republican hopes of retaining control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections, two U.S. lawmakers said on Sunday. Republican Representative Thomas Massie and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, who want the House of Representatives to vote on their bipartisan resolution requiring full release of the government's Epstein files, said the lack of transparency is reinforcing public perceptions that the rich and powerful live beyond the reach of the judicial system. "This is going to hurt Republicans in the midterms. The voters will be apathetic if we don't hold the rich and powerful accountable," Massie, a hardline conservative from Kentucky, told NBC's "Meet the Press" program. Republicans hope to add to their current 219-212 House majority -- with four seats currently vacant -- and 53-47 Senate majority in November 2026, although the U.S. political cycle traditionally punishes the party of the sitting president during midterm elections. Khanna said Attorney General Pam Bondi triggered "a crisis of trust" by saying there was no list of Epstein clients after previously implying that one existed. The change in position unleashed a tsunami of calls for her resignation from Trump's MAGA base. "This is about trust in government," the California Democrat told "Meet the Press." "This is about being a reform agent of transparency." President Donald Trump, who is playing golf and holding bilateral trade talks in Scotland, has been frustrated by continued questions about his administration's handling of investigative files related to Epstein's criminal charges and 2019 death by suicide in prison. Massie and Khanna believe they can win enough support from fellow lawmakers to force a vote on their resolution when Congress returns from its summer recess in September. But they face opposition from Republican leaders including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who sent lawmakers home a day early to stymie Democratic efforts to force a vote before the break. Johnson, who also appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," said he favors a non-binding alternative resolution that calls for release of "credible" evidence, but which he said would better protect victims including minors. "The Massie and Khanna discharge petition is reckless in the way that it is drafted and presented," Johnson said. "It does not adequately include those protections." Massie dismissed Johnson's claim as "a straw man" excuse. "Ro and I carefully crafted this legislation so that the victims' names will be redacted," he said. "They're hiding behind that." Trump, who weathered two impeachments and a federal probe into contacts between his 2016 campaign and Russia during his first presidential term, has tried and failed so far to distract attention from the Epstein controversy six months into his second term. On Saturday, Trump repeated his claims without evidence that 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and other Democrats should be prosecuted over payment for endorsements from celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce and the Reverend Al Sharpton. "Kamala, and all of those that received Endorsement money, BROKE THE LAW. They should all be prosecuted!" Trump said on social media. Last week he accused former President Barack Obama of "treason" over how the Obama administration treated intelligence about Russian interference in U.S. elections nine years ago, drawing a rebuke from an Obama spokesperson. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump ally, said on Sunday that Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's director of national intelligence, had found new information that investigators initially discovered no evidence of Russian election interference but changed their position after Obama told them to keep looking. "I'm not alleging he committed treason, but I am saying it bothers me," Graham told "Meet the Press." "The best way to handle this is if there is evidence of a crime being committed, or suspected evidence of a crime being committed, create a special counsel to look at it," Graham added. Democratic Representative Jason Crow dismissed Gabbard's claims, telling the "Fox News Sunday" program that the national intelligence director had turned herself into "a weapon of mass distraction." The Department of Justice has said it is forming a strike force to assess Gabbard's claims. (Reporting by David MorganEditing by Colleen Jenkins and Leslie Adler)
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Trump says US will work with Thailand and Cambodia, adds both 'want to settle'
A view of broken windows at a damaged hospital, caused by Cambodia's shelling in Sisaket province, as Cambodia and Thailand each said the other had launched artillery attacks across contested border areas early on Sunday, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said the leaders of both countries had agreed to work on a ceasefire, Thailand, July 27, 2025. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha TURNBERRY, Scotland (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he believed both Thailand and Cambodia wanted to settle their differences after he told the leaders of both countries that he would not conclude trade deals with them unless they ended their fighting. "I spoke to both of the prime ministers, and I think by the time I got off, I think they want to settle now," Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Turnbery, Scotland. Trump said he believed Thai and Cambodian officials were due to meet in coming days. (Reporting by Andrew Gray; Writing by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Will Dunham)
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Embattled Japan PM gets unlikely support
JAPANESE Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's future is uncertain but an unlikely campaign for him to stay was growing online, including from people who are his natural political opponents. The life raft has emerged since upper house elections on July 20 deprived Ishiba's coalition of an upper house majority, months after it suffered a similar disaster in the lower chamber. Despite Ishiba, 68, insisting that he has not discussed his resignation with members of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), multiple reports say it is just a matter of time. Some conservative members of the LDP are collecting signatures to hold a special meeting to discuss a leadership election to oust Ishiba, Fuji TV reported last Friday. One reported signee is Sanae Takaichi, a hardline nationalist and one-time heavy metal drummer who lost a leadership contest to Ishiba in September. Takaichi, 64, would likely run again to lead the party — and become Japan's first woman prime minister if she wins — if Ishiba does depart. The prospect of someone as premier with hawkish views on Japanese history and China has fuelled online calls for the moderate Ishiba to remain in power under the hashtag "#Ishiba Don't quit". Some of the calls came from opposition politicians to the left of the LDP, including even from a Communist Party member of a local ward assembly. Ishiba "is the most reasonable LDP leader in recent memory", said LaSalle Ishii, a newly elected lawmaker for the Social Democratic Party, on X. "If he resigns, a far-right government will be born," said the well-known comedian and voice actor. Taro Yamamoto, the leader of small opposition party Reiwa Shinsengumi, was among the first to voice concern about Ishiba's replacement. "The question is, if he were not to continue, who is going to replace him instead?" he said during a news conference recently. "His economic policies are no good, but for Ishiba-san to continue, I think it's a safe choice." A few hundred people participated in a rally outside Ishiba's office last Friday, with some holding up signs urging him to "never give up" and "persevere". Among them was 70-year-old Shigeru Koga, an opposition supporter who until the election day on Sunday had been calling on Ishiba's government to be brought down. But five days later, he said Ishiba is "still far better" than alternatives like Takaichi and Shinjiro Koizumi, the popular agriculture minister within LDP who Koga called "easily manipulable". "If the Takaichi government materialises, it would further give rise to forces like far-right Sanseito," said Koga, referring to the upstart "Japanese first" party. "To prevent that, and keep Japan safe, Ishiba must be brave and stand firm." Shortly after the July 20 election, a Kyodo News survey put the approval rating for the Ishiba government at just 22.9 per cent. But in that same poll, 45.8 per cent of the public believed that there was no need for him to resign. The LDP has governed almost non-stop since 1955, but voters have been deserting the party, including towards fringe groups like Sanseito. Factors include rising prices, notably for rice, falling living standards, and anger at corruption scandals within the LDP. The opposition is seen as too fragmented to form an alternative government. But being in a minority in both houses of parliament means Ishiba's coalition needs support from other parties to pass legislation. This comes just as Japan faces multiple challenges, including a ballooning social security budget to pay pensions for its rapidly ageing and shrinking population. A new trade deal announced last week with United States President Donald Trump will see Japanese imports face a painful 15 per cent tariff, although this was lower than a threatened 25 per cent. "We'll evaluate it every quarter, and if the president is unhappy then they will boomerang back to the 25 per cent tariff rates," said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent afterwards. The writers are from AFP
