Ishiba rules out joint document on U.S. tariffs as deal's details trickle out

Japan Times

4 days ago

There is no plan to issue a joint document on the tariff agreement reached between Japan and the United States earlier this week, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said, even as numerous details about the deal remain unclear.
Ishiba made the remark Friday at a meeting among leaders of ruling and opposition parties that was held following the agreement, which included a 15% U.S. "reciprocal tariff" on imports from Japan, cut from the 25% rate announced earlier.
Opposition parties criticized the Japanese government for failing to issue a joint statement on the agreement. They also urged the government to compile a supplementary budget plan, citing the need for economic measures to cushion the tariff impact.
The meeting was attended by Tetsuo Saito, leader of Komeito, the coalition partner of Ishiba's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, as well as the heads of opposition parties, including Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan chief Yoshihiko Noda.
"We achieved an agreement that serves both countries' national interests while protecting what we should protect," Ishiba said at the beginning of the meeting.
The opposition parties urged Ishiba to offer more details of the agreement.
The U.S. government has not announced a 15% tariff for Japanese vehicles. Ishiba said that the Japanese and the U.S. governments agreed on the rate, but it was a matter of interpretation, according to an attendee at the meeting.
On the purchase of 100 Boeing aircraft, the prime minister said that the government took the decision after consulting with Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said that the U.S. side will receive 90% of profits from $550 billion in investments from Japan. He also has said that the U.S. government will examine the execution of the agreement every quarter.
Ishiba confirmed that such discussions have taken place and that the Japanese side plans to examine the execution of the deal.
Japan's top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazwa, enters the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Thursday. |
JIJI
However, a document released by the Japanese government on Friday said that the nine-to-one profit-sharing split Trump touted will apply to only a limited set of Japanese investments in the U.S., with the split "based on each side's contribution and risk burden."
A fact sheet released by the U.S. side also did not clarify when the new tariffs would go into effect, though Japan's top negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, told reporters Thursday that it would likely be the same time as the deadline Trump had set for a deal.
"The 15% 'reciprocal' tariff will likely take effect Aug. 1," Akazawa said, adding that Japan is not currently considering making the deal legally binding by incorporating it into a joint document-type agreement.
At the talks with Ishiba, Noda demanded the compilation of a supplementary budget for fiscal 2025, saying that the U.S. vehicle tariff rate for Japan is up sixfold from 2.5%, the rate before the tariff hike.
Ishiba said that the impact on the Japanese economy is uncertain without close analysis. He also said that the 15% tariff rate is lower than that for other countries, a relative advantage for Japan.
"The difference in interpretations will be a problem," Noda told reporters after the meeting, referring to the lack of a joint document.
The sentiment was echoed by Seiji Maehara, co-head of Nippon Ishin no Kai.
"The content (of the agreement) is not detailed, and this is very risky," he said.
Meanwhile, Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, said that his party's early praise of the deal required rethinking.
"We want to take back the compliment to the government that we made right after the agreement," he said.
Komeito's Saito urged Ishiba to hold a summit with Trump "to avoid a misunderstanding."
After the talks, Ishiba stressed that the government will firmly put the agreement into practice — another signal that the prime minister will not be stepping down soon despite growing calls for him to do so.
"I felt the prime minister's strong wish to remain in his post," Tamaki said.
Over the U.S. tariffs, parliamentary affairs chiefs of the LDP and the CDP agreed to hold a Lower House Budget Committee meeting, possibly on Aug. 4.
The populist right-wing party Sanseito, which had a strong showing in the recent Upper House election, was represented at the party leader meeting for the first time. The heads of Reiwa Shinsengumi and the Japanese Communist Party were also present.