Trump announces 'massive' Japan trade deal including 15% tariff
The two countries have been locked in negotiations for months since Trump launched his global trade offensive, with levies targeting steel and automobiles -- both important Japanese exports -- seen as particular sticking points.
Trump had previously threatened Japan, a major US trading partner, with a tariff of 25 percent beginning August 1 if a deal was not reached.
"We just completed a massive Deal with Japan, perhaps the largest Deal ever made," Trump announced on his Truth Social platform.
He said that under the deal, "Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 Billion Dollars into the United States, which will receive 90% of the Profits."
He did not provide further details on the unusual investment plan, but claimed the deal "will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs."
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that he needed to examine the deal before commenting.
"As for what to make of the outcome of the negotiations, I am not able to discuss it until after we carefully examine the details of the negotiations and the agreement," Ishiba told reporters in Tokyo after Trump's announcement in Washington.
Japan has agreed to "open their Country to Trade, including Cars and Trucks, Rice and certain other Agricultural Products, and other things," Trump said.
Rice imports are a sensitive issue in Japan, and Ishiba's government had previously ruled out any concessions on the topic.
Japan's Nikkei index bounced over one percent on news of the deal, with Japanese auto stocks rising six percent.
The deal comes after Ishiba faced a bruising weekend election that left his coalition without a majority in the upper house.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
43 minutes ago
- IOL News
Citrus and Wine industries plead with Ramaphosa for protection from looming tariffs
The Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa (CGA) in a statement said they want an exemption for seasonal fresh produce from US President Trump tariff. Image: Doctor Ngcobo / Independent Newspapers As US President Donald Trump's sweeping and wide spread tariffs close in on South Africa, the citrus and wine industries have called for action to be taken by President Cyril Ramaphosa to stave off the detrimental effects it could have on them. On Monday, the wine industry said that South Africans should double down on supporting the local wine industry to offset the 30% tariffs that the United States government has slapped on South African wine exports. The industry stated that the tariffs threaten to erode the gains the local wine industry has achieved in the bumper harvest of 2025 and will potentially haemorrhage the jobs in the wine industry ecosystem. Eustace Mashimbye, Chief Executive Officer of Proudly South African said, "Spurred by favourable preferential trade terms from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), South African wine exports to the United States enjoyed zero tariffs and propelled the United States to become South Africa's fourth-largest wine export market by value after the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands." According to the figures released by the South African Wine Industry Information and Systems (SAWIS), approximately R600 million worth of wine was exported to the United States in 2024. 'The 30% tariffs on South African wine exports to the United States don't bode well for the viability, margins, and jobs in the wine industry. We must look for alternative markets, which is a laborious process that takes time. Currently, the most viable market is us. As consumers, hoteliers, restaurant owners and liquor traders, we have an opportunity to buffer this important industry against the looming headwinds by ramping up support for local wine winemakers,' said Mashimbye. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ 'Over and above showcasing the finest wines from emerging wine makers, the Local Wine Expo also fosters national pride and showcases career and entrepreneurial opportunities that are available in this space," she said. Meanwhile, the Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa (CGA) said it wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa, asking for urgent action on behalf of rural communities in the Northern and Western Cape where citrus to the US is grown and whose livelihoods are reliant on US-SA citrus trade. "This week, with the tariff deadline on Friday, is one of great anxiety for the citrus growers in the Western and Northern Cape. These two provinces annually export about 7 million cartons to the US," said Dr Boitshoko Ntshabele, CEO of the CGA. The CGA said it asked President Ramaphosa to urgently facilitate an extension of the current 10% US tariff beyond 1 August, which would allow for negotiations toward a mutually beneficial trade agreement. The CGA also requested that, if a general extension of the deadline is not possible, an urgent request for a specific extension for seasonal fresh produce should be secured. Seasonal fresh produce is perishable and cannot be stored for extended periods, like other trade products. The midpoint of the 2025 export season has just been passed, which means hundreds of thousands of cartons of citrus are ready in packhouses to be shipped to the US over the next few weeks. The implementation of a 30% tariff on 1 August will mean most of this fruit will be left unsold. South African citrus growers do not pose a threat to US growers or jobs, as the produce sustains demand when local US citrus is out of season, benefiting US consumers. "Citrus as a source of nutrition also helps to keep America healthy. Should we not be able to secure a favourable trade deal, or the concession for fresh produce, local job losses before the next season will be a certainty," added Dr Ntshabele. Gerrit van der Merwe, Chairman of the CGA, said, "Being a grower in Citrusdal, I am very worried about the effect the tariffs will have on our town and the wider Cederberg municipality. Citrus forms the economic heart of the area. Not just farmers and farm workers will feel the impact, local businesses and even the funding of social support programmes will be affected as well. The social fabric of some rural towns in the Western and Northern Cape is being threatened." "Local growers have also said that a 30% tariff could not only stifle future growth, but lead to the eventual destruction of between 500 and 1000 ha that would simply become unprofitable," Van der Merwe added. BUSINESS REPORT
The Herald
3 hours ago
- The Herald
US diplomats asked if non-whites qualify for Trump refugee programme for South Africans
The internal back-and-forth between the embassy and the state department, which hasn't been previously reported, illustrates the confusion about how to implement a policy designed to help white Afrikaners in a racially diverse country that includes mixed-race people who speak Afrikaans and whites who speak English. To date the state department has resettled 88 South Africans under the programme, including the initial group of 59 who arrived in May. Another 15 are expected to arrive by the end of August, one source said. Trump, a Republican who recaptured the White House pledging a wide-ranging immigration crackdown, placed an indefinite freeze on refugee admissions from around the world after taking office, saying the US would only admit refugees who 'can fully and appropriately assimilate'. Weeks later he issued an executive order that called for the US to resettle Afrikaners, describing them as victims of 'violence against racially disfavoured landowners', allegations that echoed far-right claims which have been contested by government. Since the executive order, US diplomats working to implement the programme have been deliberating internally about which racial groups could be considered eligible, one source said. In the July 8 cable, Greene laid out a summary of the different ethnic and racial groups in the country before seeking guidance on eligibility. In addition to Afrikaners and mixed-race South Africans, Greene mentioned indigenous South Africans known as the Khoisan people. He said members of the Jewish community had also expressed interest, but in South Africa they are considered a religious minority and not a racial group. 'In the absence of other guidance, [the US embassy] intends to give consideration to well-founded claims of persecution based on race for other racial minorities,' Greene wrote. At least one family identified as coloured has travelled to the US as refugees, two people familiar with the matter said. The cable forced the administration to clarify its position on whether the policy is for whites only, and if it does include other aggrieved minorities, who would qualify, two people familiar with the matter said. Chretien, a conservative who wrote op-eds promoting the Heritage Foundation's 'Project 2025" plan to overhaul the federal government, is the senior official at the state department's bureau of population, refugees, and migration.
eNCA
6 hours ago
- eNCA
Battling tariffs is no trivial pursuit for US games retailer
ANNAPOLIS - At a strip mall in Maryland, a miniature landscape extends across a table between Dash Krempel and his friend as a war game unfolds. But their hobby is becoming more expensive as US tariffs take a toll. Krempel told AFP the cost of models for tabletop games have surged from inflation, and continued rising since US President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on trading partners this year. UK-made figurines that cost $60 around three years ago now go for $94.50, he said. "Prices have gotten bigger," he added. "It's a very expensive hobby to begin with, so it's maybe pricing a lot of people out." Instead of buying more products, he now tries to support retailer Game Kastle College Park by renting tables to play in-store. For the shop's owner, Boyd Stephenson, stocking new board games, paints and hobby supplies has only become more challenging. To avoid the harshest of Trump's tariffs, some suppliers had to delay shipments or postpone new releases. As they raised their suggested retail prices, so has Stephenson at Game Kastle. About a fifth of his store's products have seen cost hikes, with increases ranging from 5 percent to 20 percent. "If we see higher prices or higher tariffs, I'm going to see higher wholesale prices, and then I have to raise my prices accordingly," he said. Asked what percentage of his store relies on imports, Stephenson replied: "Almost all of it." - No capacity - AFP | SAUL LOEB Stephenson estimates some 7,000 board games were released last year from 5,000 different companies. "You're really looking at 5,000 different approaches (to tariffs)," he said. "Some producers are saying, 'We're going to eat the cost.' Some producers are saying, 'We're passing the cost through all the way.' And other producers are doing some sort of mix of that." Like other US retailers, Stephenson could face more cost pressures come August 1, when steeper tariffs are set to hit dozens of economies like the European Union and India. The elevated rates mark an increase from the 10 percent levy Trump imposed on goods from most economies in April. AFP | SAUL LOEB While China -- a crucial manufacturing hub for games -- is temporarily spared, Trump has separately imposed fresh 30 percent tariffs on products from the world's second biggest economy this year. US tariffs on Chinese products could return to higher levels from August 12 if officials fail to extend their truce. Yet, there is no quick fix to return manufacturing to the United States. "US manufacturers just don't have the capacity to do that anymore," said Stephenson, showing an intricate board game figurine. "Really, the people that are good at that, that's China," he said. "The best modeling paints come from Spain." "So if you see tariffs get put up on the EU, then all of a sudden I'm going to have to pay higher prices on modelling paint when I bring it into the country," he added. Trump has threatened the bloc with a 30 percent tariff. - 'Universally bad' - AFP | SAUL LOEB Stephenson tries to absorb some cost hikes, but said: "I have to be able to pay the staff, pay the electric company, pay the landlord." Trump's on-again, off-again approach to duties has also made suppliers' price changes more unpredictable. "What is always universally bad for business is uncertainty," Stephenson said. He usually stocks up on inventory ahead of the year-end holiday season, but expects to be more strategic with purchases this year to avoid unwelcome surprises. Many companies are delaying merchandise imports as they lack certainty, said Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation. "When the product is brought into the country and entered into commerce, you have 15 days to pay your tariff bill," he said. This causes problems when tariff rates change and businesses lack funds to pay for orders. Some businesses, and industry group the Game Manufacturers Association, have mounted legal challenges against Trump's blanket tariffs hitting various countries, noting nearly 80 percent of tabletop games sold in the US are made abroad. But such complaints are an uphill battle. "The damage, especially for small retailers, has been significant," Gold said. by Beiyi Seow
