Japan tariff negotiator Akazawa to hold more trade talks in US next week, World News
Tokyo hopes to clinch a deal by an Aug 1 deadline that will avert President Donald Trump's tariff of 25 per cent on imports from Japan.
"I intend to keep on seeking actively an agreement that is beneficial to both Japan and the United States, while safeguarding our national interest," Akazawa told reporters in the western region of Osaka.
Akazawa was visiting Osaka to host a US delegation, led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, that participated in the US National Day event at World Expo 2025.
Akazawa said he did not discuss tariffs with Bessent.
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Business Times
5 hours ago
- Business Times
Japan expects only 1% to 2% of $550 billion US fund to be investment
[TOKYO] Japan expects only 1 to 2 per cent of its recently agreed upon US$550 billion US fund to be in the form of actual investment, with the bulk of it being loans, according to the nation's top chief negotiator Ryosei Akazawa. At the same time, Tokyo would save roughly 10 trillion yen (S$87 billion) through lower tariff rates in its deal with America, he said. The US$550 billion investment framework will be a combination of investments, loans and loan guarantees provided by financial institutions backed by the Japanese government, Akazawa said on public broadcaster NHK on Saturday (Jul 26) night. Of the total, investment would be worth 1 per cent or 2 per cent and the US and Japan would split the profits of that investment at a ratio of 90-10, he said. Japan had originally proposed a 50-50 ratio, he added. The fund is a centrepiece of the deal announced by the two sides that will impose 15 per cent tariffs on Japanese cars and other goods. But the details given by Akazawa suggest the Japanese may end up giving up much less than at first glance. The comments come as officials from countries with deals with the US sift through the terms to explain to the public what they entail. 'It's not that US$550 billion in cash will be sent to the US,' Akazawa said. 'By letting the US have 90 per cent of the profits rather than 50 per cent, I think Japan's loss will be at most a couple of tens of billions of yen. People are saying various things, such as 'You sold out Japan', but they are wrong.' For the loans provided through the programme, Japan will simply be collecting the interest payments, and for the loan guarantees, if nothing happens, Japan will also be just collecting fees, Akazawa said. 'For that part, Japan's just making money,' he said. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Akazawa also clarified that the investment programme will not be only supporting Japanese and US firms. As a potential example, he cited a Taiwanese semiconductor firm building a factory in the US. 'We'd like to put the US$550 billion in place during President Trump's term,' Akazawa added. Further details of the implementation of the US-Japan deal remain unclear, including when the new tariff rates would take effect and when the new investment vehicle would kick off. There's been no joint document signed by both sides for the deal, although the White House has published a fact sheet. 'If you say something like, 'Let's create a joint document,' they will say, 'We will lower tariffs after the document is created,'' Akazawa said. In order not to lose time, 'we will demand that they issue an executive order to lower tariffs as soon as possible, regardless of a document'. Last week, Akazawa said that he expects universal tariffs on Japan's shipments to be lowered to 15 per cent on Aug 1, while he said he wanted the car tariffs to be cut to 15 per cent as soon as possible without specifying a date. The Trump administration has touted the deal with Japan as a potential model for others. On Sunday, the US and European Union agreed on a deal that will see the bloc face 15 per cent tariffs on most of its exports, with the EU pledging to invest US$600 billion in the US. BLOOMBERG
Straits Times
21 hours ago
- Straits Times
No deal yet – South Korea on tenterhooks as Aug 1 US tariff deadline looms
U.S. President Donald Trump speaking to the media after arriving at Glasgow Prestwick Airport, in Prestwick, Scotland on July 25. – As the clock ticks down to Aug 1, the pressure is on for Seoul officials. With the White House's threat of 25 per cent tariffs looming over the horizon, Seoul appears to be left in the dust as other key United States partners, such as Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia, swooped to the finishing line in the nick of time, with deals cobbled on July 22 and 23. In contrast, Seoul officials have had doors shut in their faces as planned high-level meetings were scrapped at the very last minute with no clear reasons given. South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and newly appointed Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol were due for a '2+2' meeting with their respective counterparts, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, on July 25, but the meeting was cancelled at the last minute via e-mail , with US officials citing an 'urgent scheduling conflict' on Mr Bessent's part. South Korean media reports have claimed that Mr Bessent had met Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong instead. Mr Gan, who is also Minister for Trade and Industry, was in the US from July 20 to 26 to deepen trade and tech ties . Earlier on July 21, Seoul's National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac was left waiting in vain in the West Wing of the White House when a scheduled meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio was suddenly summoned for an urgent meeting with US President Donald Trump. Mr Wi, whose talks on the diplomatic track were meant to supplement the economic officials' consultations, told reporters that he managed to subsequently speak with Mr Rubio over the phone where the latter pledged thorough discussions with Mr Trump along with other trade officials. South Korea's newly appointed Foreign Minister Cho Hyun had just started work on July 21. Whether the meeting cancellations were by design or coincidence, it is a clear pressure tactic to press Seoul in the critical run-up to the Aug 1 deadline, analysts told The Straits Times. Non-resident fellow Troy Stangarone of the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy and Technology told ST the cancellation of the meetings are 'a clear effort to increase the pressure on South Korea by reducing the negotiating time'. 'As more countries conclude deals with the US, it will increase the pressure on South Korea and reduce Seoul's negotiating space,' he said. Japan, a manufacturing powerhouse like South Korea and the other partner in the trilateral security partnership with the US, managed to slash tariff rates to 15 per cent from 25 per cent by agreeing to buy more rice and cars from the US. It also pledged an investment of US$550 billion (S$705 billion) in the US. As a result, the pressure is mounting for Seoul officials to do just as well, if not better. And the US knows this very well. In a CNBC interview on July 24, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he 'could hear the expletives out of South Korea when they read the Japanese deal because the Koreans and the Japanese... they stare at each other', adding that he was aware how South Korea 'very much' wants a deal. South Korea had lost much time during the six months of political vacuum after former president Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration on Dec 3, 2024. To make things worse, Washington and Seoul are currently without ambassadors in each other's capitals – an unprecedented simultaneous diplomatic vacuum that is bad timing for the tariff talks. The new administration under President Lee Jae-myung, inaugurated on June 4, has been scrambling to beat the clock and mitigate the impact of the threatened 25 per cent tariffs on South Korea's export-driven economy. The presidential office in Seou l said on July 26 that it is continuing all-out efforts in trade negotiations, with a series of high-level meetings scheduled in the narrow window leading to the Aug 1 deadline. South Korean media, citing sources in the know, reported that a revised proposal presented by Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan to Mr Lutnick on July 25 did not yield tangible results, so it is back to the drawing board. Mr Kim is said to have presented a revised proposal to narrow their differences on contentious items, including the US$100 billion investment plan by Korean companies in the US and easing trade regulations on beef and rice imports by Seoul. However, the proposal falls short of what the US is reportedly seeking, which includes South Korean investments worth US$400 billion, increased energy imports and the easing of digital regulations seen as targeting American digital services providers. South Korea's former trade minister Yoo Myung-hee, who served from 2019 to 2021, told Seoul-based foreign media on July 24 that South Korea's position as the top investor to the US among all the US free trade partner countries, is ironically working against it in the tariff negotiations. 'As the top investor country, South Korea makes about US$25 billion of investments every year. This means that South Korea does not actually have a large capacity for additional investments,' she said. And Japan's agreement to a US$550 billion investment plan weakens Seoul's negotiating position too, said Mr Stangarone. But he pointed out that South Korea still has advantages over Japan – its semiconductor industry capabilities and shipbuilding capacities. 'Since South Korea cannot put as much investment on the table, it needs to focus on the quality of its investments as well as investment in areas like nuclear power and defence industrial cooperation that Japan didn't bring to the table,' he said. Perhaps not all is lost yet. In response to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency query, a White House official presented an upbeat picture, saying that 'productive negotiations' with South Korea are continuing, raising hope there could still be a breakthrough in the days to come. In a press gaggle before departing for Scotland on July 25 where he was set to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to refine the US-UK trade agreement signed on June 26 and also European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen to discuss tariffs, President Trump said his office would be sending out some 200 letters in the coming week and that 'we are going to charge a lower tariff than I could get. I don't want to hurt countries'. Dr Lee Seong-hyon, a senior fellow at the Washington-based George H.W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations, is positive that a deal will be struck in time, taking a cue from Mr Trump's comments that he is giving the EU a '50/50' chance. He told ST: 'The focus now shifts from 'if' a deal will happen to 'what' the final terms look like when the announcement is officially unveiled.'
Business Times
3 days ago
- Business Times
Gold eases after Trump downplays clash with Fed chair Powell
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