Latest news with #Akazawa
Asahi Shimbun
2 hours ago
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
U.S-Japan trade deal guarantees lowest tariff rates for chips, pharma, Japanese official says
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief trade negotiator, explains the agreement reached with the United States on tariffs in Washington on July 22. (Asahi Shimbun file photo) Japan's leading trade negotiator said on Tuesday that the trade deal Tokyo agreed with the United States last week guarantees Japan will always receive the lowest tariff rate on chips and pharmaceuticals of all the pacts negotiated by Washington. "If a third country agrees with the United States on lower rates on chips and pharmaceuticals, those lower rates would apply to Japan," Ryosei Akazawa told a news conference. The European Union secured a 15% baseline tariff as part of a framework trade deal with the U.S. this week, averting looming new tariffs on chips and pharmaceuticals. Japan last week struck a trade deal with the U.S. that lowers tariffs on cars and other goods to 15% in exchange for a U.S.-bound $550 billion Japanese investment package including equity, loans and guarantees. Asked why there has been no joint statement on the agreement, Akazawa said Japan is prioritizing having President Donald Trump sign an executive order to bring the agreed 15% tariff rate into effect. "We want to concentrate our efforts on getting the tariffs lowered first, and then we can consider whether an official document on the agreement is necessary," he said.
Al Etihad
13 hours ago
- Business
- Al Etihad
US-Japan trade deal guarantees lowest tariff rates for chips, pharma, Japanese official says
29 July 2025 14:56 TOKYO (REUTERS)Japan's leading trade negotiator said on Tuesday that the trade deal Tokyo agreed with the United States last week guarantees Japan will always receive the lowest tariff rate on chips and pharmaceuticals of all the pacts negotiated by Washington."If a third country agrees with the United States on lower rates on chips and pharmaceuticals, those lower rates would apply to Japan," Ryosei Akazawa told a news European Union secured a 15% baseline tariff as part of a framework trade deal with the US this week, averting looming new tariffs on chips and last week struck a trade deal with the US that lowers tariffs on cars and other goods to 15% in exchange for a US-bound $550 billion Japanese investment package, including equity, loans, and why there has been no joint statement on the agreement, Akazawa said Japan is prioritising having President Donald Trump sign an executive order to bring the agreed 15% tariff rate into effect. "We want to concentrate our efforts on getting the tariffs lowered first, and then we can consider whether an official document on the agreement is necessary," he said.
The Star
a day ago
- Business
- The Star
Japan expects bulk of US fund to be in loans
TOKYO: Japan expects only 1% to 2% of its recently agreed upon US$550bil American 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 through lower tariff rates in its deal with the United States, he said. The US$550bil 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 night. Of the total, investment would be worth 1% or 2% and the United States 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 the centrepiece of the deal announced by the two sides that will impose 15% tariffs on Japanese cars and other goods. But the details given by Akazawa suggested the Japanese may end up giving up much less than at first glance. The comments came as officials from countries with deals with the United States sift through the terms to explain to the public what they entail. 'It's not that US$550bil in cash will be sent to the United States,' Akazawa said. 'By letting the United States have 90% of the profits rather than 50%, 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're wrong,' he added. 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. Akazawa also clarified that the investment programme won't be only supporting Japanese and US firms. As a potential example, he cited a Taiwanese semiconductor firm building a factory in the United States. 'We'd like to put the US$550bil 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. — Bloomberg
Business Times
2 days ago
- Business
- 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
Qatar Tribune
2 days ago
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
US-Japan trade deal: Trump claims $550 bn investment
Agencies President Donald Trump is bragging that Japan has given him, as part of a new trade framework, $550 billion to invest in the United States. It's an astonishing figure, but still subject to negotiation and perhaps not the sure thing he's portraying.'Japan is putting up $550 billion in order to lower their tariffs a little bit,' Trump said Thursday. 'They put up, as you could call it, seed money. Let's call it seed money.' He said 90% of any profits from the money invested would go to the U.S. even if Japan had put up the funds. 'It's not a loan or anything, it's a signing bonus,' the Republican president said, on the trade framework that lowered his threatened tariff from 25% to 15%, including on autos. A White House official said the terms are being negotiated and nothing has been formalized in writing. The official, who insisted on anonymity to detail the terms of the talks, suggested the goal was for the $550 billion fund to make investments at Trump's direction. The sum is significant: It would represent more than 10% of Japan's entire gross domestic product. The Japan External Trade Organization estimates that direct investment into the U.S. economy topped $780 billion in 2023. It is unclear the degree to which the $550 billion could represent new investment or flow into existing investment plans. What the trade framework announced Tuesday has achieved is a major talking point for the Trump administration. The president has claimed to have brought trillions of dollars in new investment into the U.S., though the impact of those commitments have yet to appear in the economic data for jobs, construction spending or manufacturing output. The framework also enabled Trump to say other countries are agreeing to have their goods taxed, even if some of the cost of those taxes are ultimately passed along to U.S. the $550 billion, Japan's Cabinet Office said it involves the credit facility of state-affiliated financial institutions, such as Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Further details would be decided based on the progress of the investment trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa, upon returning to Japan, did not discuss the terms of the $550 billion investment. Akazawa said he believes a written joint statement is necessary, at least on working levels, to avoid differences. He is not thinking about a legally binding trade pact. The U.S. apparently released its version of the deal while Japanese officials were on their return flight home. 'If we find differences of understanding, we may have to point them out and say 'that's not what we discussed,'' Akazawa said. The U.S. administration said the fund would be invested in critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, computer chips and shipbuilding, among other industries. It has said Japan will also buy 100 airplanes from Boeing and rice from U.S. farmers as part of the framework, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said would be evaluated every three months. 'And if the president is unhappy, then they will boomerang back to the 25% tariff rates, both on cars and the rest of their products. And I can tell you that I think at 25, especially in cars, the Japanese economy doesn't work,' Bessent told Fox News' 'The Ingraham Angle.' Akazawa denied that Bessent's quarterly review was part of the negotiations. 'In my past eight trips to the United States during which I held talks with the president and the ministers,' Akazawa said. 'I have no recollection of discussing how we ensure the implementation of the latest agreement between Japan and the United States.' He said it would cause major disruptions to the economy and administrative processes if the rates first rise to 25% as scheduled on Aug. 1 and then drop to 15%. 'We definitely want to avoid that and I believe that is the understanding shared by the U.S. side,' he said. On buying U.S. rice, Japanese officials have said they have no plans to raise the current 770,000-ton 'minimum access' cap to import more from America. Agricultural Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Japan will decide whether to increase U.S. rice imports and that Japan is not committed to a fixed commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, has suggested that the Japanese agreement is putting pressure on other countries such as South Korea to strike deals with the U.S. Trump, who is traveling in Scotland, plans to meet on Sundayv with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss trade. 'Whatever Donald Trump wants to build, the Japanese will finance it for him,' Lutnick said Thursday on CNBC. 'Pretty amazing.'
