Latest news with #Akazawa
Mint
3 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
Japan's Akazawa Reportedly Mulls Return to US This Week
Japan's top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa is considering returning to the US for another round of trade negotiations this week as expectations mount for a deal as early as this month. Akazawa may leave Japan on Thursday to hold discussions with his counterparts including US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent the following day, TV Asahi reported, citing an unnamed government official. Public broadcaster NHK also said Akazawa is mulling a visit later this week. Akazawa said the fourth round of ministerial-level negotiations last week saw progress toward an agreement, although he refrained from commenting on any specifics. As with other nations, Japan faces a 25% levy on cars, steel and aluminum and a 10% levy on all other goods. The across-the-board tariff is set to rise to 24% in early July barring a deal. The two sides will meet again before the Group of Seven leaders' summit between June 15-17 in Canada, according to Akazawa. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and US President Donald Trump are expected to meet on the sidelines. Over the weekend, Trump touted Nippon Steel Corp.'s investment into the US Steel Corp. and he announced he will double the levy on steel and aluminum on June 4. The development doesn't appear to bode well for Tokyo in that Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has taken a stance that high tariffs could compromise the Asian nation's ability to invest in the US. At a press conference on Monday, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi was asked about the impact of the higher levies on the domestic industry and the trade negotiations. 'We will closely monitor the specific details of the measures,' Hayashi said. 'In any case, the series of US tariff measures is very regrettable and we will continue to urge the US to review them.' ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Kyodo News
8 hours ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
Trump's steel tariff hike not raised in Japan-U.S. talks: negotiator
KYODO NEWS - 10 hours ago - 21:02 | All, Japan Japan's chief tariff negotiator said Sunday that his U.S. counterpart had not touched on President Donald Trump's decision to double tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 percent during their talks in Washington late last week. Trump's announcement came on social media on Friday, the same day that Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's minister in charge of economic policy, met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other officials for the fourth round of bilateral tariff negotiations. After returning to Tokyo, Akazawa, a close aide to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, told reporters at Haneda airport that the Japanese government would "closely watch the specific details of the measures that will be revealed in the future" by the United States. Later Sunday, Akazawa met with Ishiba at the prime minister's official residence to report the outcome of the latest talks. He said he was instructed to "continue negotiating to the utmost of your ability and with the highest priority of reaching an agreement." Trump on social media cited national security behind his decision to raise tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the current 25 percent, and said the new rate charged to most nations would go into effect on Wednesday. Regarding the plan by Nippon Steel Corp. to acquire United States Steel Corp., Akazawa said, "We are looking forward to a very optimistic announcement" from the Trump administration. Japan and the United States are making arrangements to hold a meeting between Ishiba and Trump on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada in mid-June after a fifth round of tariff talks, Akazawa said. Under Trump's so-called reciprocal tariff regime, announced April 2, Japan faces a country-specific tariff of 14 percent for a total rate of 24 percent. Along with others, Japan has also been hit by the Trump administration's additional 25 percent tariff on automobiles and other sector-based levies implemented on national security grounds, on top of the baseline duty of 10 percent that is part of its reciprocal scheme. Related coverage: Trump lauds Nippon Steel as "great partner" for U.S. Steel Japan, U.S. agree tariff talks making progress toward deal
The Mainichi
21 hours ago
- Business
- The Mainichi
Trump's steel tariff hike not raised in Japan-US talks: negotiator
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's chief tariff negotiator said Sunday that his U.S. counterpart had not touched on President Donald Trump's decision to double tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 percent during their talks in Washington late last week. Trump's announcement came on social media on Friday, the same day that Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's minister in charge of economic policy, met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other officials for the fourth round of bilateral tariff negotiations. After returning to Tokyo, Akazawa, a close aide to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, told reporters at Haneda airport that the Japanese government would "closely watch the specific details of the measures that will be revealed in the future" by the United States. Regarding the plan by Nippon Steel Corp. to acquire United States Steel Corp., Akazawa said, "We are looking forward to a very optimistic announcement" from the Trump administration. Japan and the United States are making arrangements to hold a meeting between Ishiba and Trump on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada in mid-June after a fifth round of tariff talks, Akazawa said.
Kyodo News
21 hours ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
Trump's steel tariff hike not raised in Japan-U.S. talks: negotiator
KYODO NEWS - 42 minutes ago - 17:45 | Others Japan's chief tariff negotiator said Sunday that his U.S. counterpart had not touched on President Donald Trump's decision to double tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 percent during their talks in Washington late last week. Trump's announcement came on social media on Friday, the same day that Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's minister in charge of economic policy, met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other officials for the fourth round of bilateral tariff negotiations. After returning to Tokyo, Akazawa, a close aide to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, told reporters at Haneda airport that the Japanese government would "closely watch the specific details of the measures that will be revealed in the future" by the United States. Regarding the plan by Nippon Steel Corp. to acquire United States Steel Corp., Akazawa said, "We are looking forward to a very optimistic announcement" from the Trump administration. Japan and the United States are making arrangements to hold a meeting between Ishiba and Trump on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada in mid-June after a fifth round of tariff talks, Akazawa said. Related coverage: Trump lauds Nippon Steel as "great partner" for U.S. Steel Japan, U.S. agree tariff talks making progress toward deal
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Japan PM Ishiba mulls Trump trade meeting before G7, says Yomiuri newspaper
TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is considering visiting Washington to meet President Donald Trump before a mid-month summit of the Group of Seven nations as he seeks a trade deal, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Sunday. Japanese officials see signs of progress on easing Trump's tariffs after repeated visits by top tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa, and say the U.S. side has shown strong interest in Japan's proposals, the Yomiuri said, citing Japanese government officials it did not name. Economy Minister Akazawa will return to Washington for more talks later this week, after which a decision will be made on a U.S. trip by Ishiba, the newspaper said. The White House and the Japanese Prime Minister's Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside business hours. Speaking to reporters upon returning on Sunday from his fourth round of negotiations, Akazawa said talks are progressing towards an agreement but that the form of negotiations before the G7 summit was yet to be decided. Japan, a major U.S. ally, faces what Trump calls a reciprocal tariff of 24% from next month unless it can negotiate a bilateral deal. Tokyo is also scrambling to find ways to get Washington to exempt its automakers, Japan's biggest industry, from 25% tariffs on automobiles. Trump said on Friday he planned to double the tariffs on all imported steel and aluminium to 50%. Japan's Ishiba open to more stimulus but rules out sales tax cut Akazawa declined to comment on those tariffs on Sunday. He said Trade Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did not mention them during the most recent negotiations. Some Japanese government officials hope an agreement can be announced in time for President Trump's birthday on June 14, the Yomiuri said. Akazawa said on Friday the two sides had 'agreed to accelerate the talks and hold another round ahead of the G7 summit', to be held from June 15 to 17 in Canada. But he said there would be no deal without U.S. concessions on tariffs, including on autos. Ishiba has said bilateral negotiations were progressing on trade expansion, non-tariff measures and economic security, while Tokyo has mentioned possible increases in its purchases of U.S. military equipment and energy, as well as cooperation on shipbuilding and repairing U.S. warships in Japan.
