
Japan touts shipbuilding in tariff talks
Japan's Economic Revitalisation Minister Ryosei Akazawa, the country's envoy for upcoming tariff talks with the US, answers questions from reporters in Washington on April 16, 2025. - AFP
TOKYO: Japan may offer financial and technical contributions ranging from investment in an Alaskan liquefied natural gas pipeline project to shipbuilding expertise as it seeks to smooth the path towards a tariff deal with the United States by mid-June.
Japan will tout its prowess in building ice-breakers, a growing area of need as security concerns in the Arctic region mount, while also offering to help repair US battleships that patrol the Asia Pacific, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Sunday, as his trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa returned to Tokyo following a third round of discussions in Washington.
Akazawa said he hoped to reach an agreement in time for a planned bilateral meeting between Ishiba and Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Canada next month.
'There were concrete discussions on trade expansion, non-tariff measures and economic security cooperation,' Ishiba said regarding the latest meeting between Akazawa and his counterparts.
'Progress was made in those areas. We plan to press ahead with discussions with the G-7 summit in mind.' — Bloomberg

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