Latest news with #Ishiba-Trump
Kyodo News
6 hours ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
Japan PM hopes for progress in U.S. tariff talks, in no rush for deal
KYODO NEWS - 5 hours ago - 14:37 | All, World, Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday that Japan aims to make progress in ongoing tariff negotiations with the United States but will not sacrifice its national interests to reach a deal quickly. Ishiba made the remarks ahead of a possible meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of a Group of Seven leaders' summit to be held in Canada from Sunday. Japan's chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa is expected to hold another round of negotiations with the United States on Friday, setting the stage for the meeting between the leaders. Through rounds of ministerial negotiations, Japan has been urging the United States, its closest ally, to rethink its tariff policy and to explore a deal that can be mutually beneficial. Ishiba has made the case that increased Japanese investment will help create jobs in the United States. "It'd be good to see certain progress made before meeting with the president at the G7. But what matters is a deal that benefits both Japan and the United States," Ishiba told reporters. "We will not prioritize reaching a deal quickly and undermine national interests," he added. Ishiba's remarks came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a key figure in the bilateral tariff talks, said Wednesday the United States could extend its current 90-day pause on the implementation of "reciprocal" tariffs if trading partners engage in negotiations "in good faith." The pause, if not extended, would expire in early July. Trump separately said his administration is prioritizing negotiations with key trading partners like Japan and South Korea, adding that it will send out letters in "about a week and a half to two weeks" to inform them of what their trade deals would look like. Ahead of his planned trip to Canada, Ishiba held talks with leaders from the opposition bloc to share the status of bilateral tariff negotiations and explain how his government is approaching the challenge, the prime minister told reporters. The imposition of higher U.S. tariffs on imported cars, auto parts, steel and aluminum has already caused uncertainty about how Japan's export-driven economy will fare. Japan also faces a reciprocal tariff rate of 24 percent, including the 10 percent baseline duty already in place. Related coverage: Bessent says 90-day tariff pause could be extended for key partners Japan, U.S. eye Ishiba-Trump summit in Canada on G7 margins Japan's top negotiator eyes U.S. trip this week for 6th tariff talks
Kyodo News
12 hours ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
Japan PM hopes for progress in U.S. tariff talks, in no rush for deal
KYODO NEWS - 9 minutes ago - 14:37 | All, World, Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday that Japan aims to make progress in ongoing tariff negotiations with the United States but will not sacrifice its national interests to reach a deal quickly. Ishiba made the remarks ahead of a possible meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of a Group of Seven leaders' summit to be held in Canada from Sunday. Japan's chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa is expected to hold another round of negotiations with the United States on Friday, setting the stage for the meeting between the leaders. Through rounds of ministerial negotiations, Japan has been urging the United States, its closest ally, to rethink its tariff policy and to explore a deal that can be mutually beneficial. Ishiba has made the case that increased Japanese investment will help create jobs in the United States. "It'd be good to see certain progress made before meeting with the president at the G7. But what matters is a deal that benefits both Japan and the United States," Ishiba told reporters. "We will not prioritize reaching a deal quickly and undermine national interests," he added. Ishiba's remarks came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a key figure in the bilateral tariff talks, said Wednesday the United States could extend its current 90-day pause on the implementation of "reciprocal" tariffs if trading partners engage in negotiations "in good faith." The pause, if not extended, would expire in early July. Trump separately said his administration is prioritizing negotiations with key trading partners like Japan and South Korea, adding that it will send out letters in "about a week and a half to two weeks" to inform them of what their trade deals would look like. Ahead of his planned trip to Canada, Ishiba held talks with leaders from the opposition bloc to share the status of bilateral tariff negotiations and explain how his government is approaching the challenge, the prime minister told reporters. The imposition of higher U.S. tariffs on imported cars, auto parts, steel and aluminum has already caused uncertainty about how Japan's export-driven economy will fare. Japan also faces a reciprocal tariff rate of 24 percent, including the 10 percent baseline duty already in place. Related coverage: Bessent says 90-day tariff pause could be extended for key partners Japan, U.S. eye Ishiba-Trump summit in Canada on G7 margins Japan's top negotiator eyes U.S. trip this week for 6th tariff talks
Kyodo News
17 hours ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
Bessent says 90-day tariff pause could be extended for key partners
KYODO NEWS - 1 hour ago - 09:02 | All, World The United States could extend a 90-day pause on the implementation of steep tariffs on goods from its major trading partners if they continue to negotiate "in good faith," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday. "It is highly likely that those countries -- or trading blocs as is the case with the EU -- who are negotiating in good faith, we will roll the date forward to continue the good-faith negotiations," Bessent said during a congressional hearing. "If someone is not negotiating, then we will not." Bessent made the remarks when asked about the upcoming end of the pause in early July, while reiterating that President Donald Trump's administration has been in talks with 18 important trading partners toward deals. Japan is one such partner that has been negotiating with the Trump administration at a fast pace, given that Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump are slated to hold a one-on-one meeting in less than a week when they attend a Group of Seven summit in Canada. Japan's chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa is due to hold his sixth round of talks with U.S. Cabinet members on Friday in a last-ditch effort to find common ground before the G7 summit. It will be Akazawa's fourth straight week visiting Washington. So far, Trump, who unveiled his so-called reciprocal tariffs on April 2, has ruled out extending the pause beyond 90 days. During this window for negotiations, the Trump administration has been particularly focused on clinching trade deals with Japan and other major trading partners, including India, South Korea and the European Union. The pause, which runs until July 8, only applies to country-specific tariffs under his reciprocal scheme. It does not affect his baseline duty of 10 percent targeting imports from all parts of the world. Japan is facing an additional country-specific tariff of 14 percent, for a total rate of 24 percent. Ishiba and Akazawa have repeatedly said they will not rush into a deal with the United States at the expense of Japan's national interest. The two have urged the Trump administration to remove all of its additional tariffs on Japanese imports. But they have also suggested the need to reach some agreement with the administration as quickly as possible to prevent the measures from further impacting the Japanese economy. It remains unclear if the latest remarks from Bessent, a key figure in Trump's tariff negotiations, will change the pace of the ongoing talks with Japan and some other trading partners. Related coverage: U.S., China agree on framework to implement Geneva trade accord Japan, U.S. eye Ishiba-Trump summit in Canada on G7 margins Japan, EU eye launch of "competitive alliance" scheme to boost trade
Kyodo News
a day ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
U.S., China agree on framework to implement Geneva trade accord
KYODO NEWS - 5 hours ago - 11:28 | World, All The United States and China agreed on a framework to implement a consensus reached during May talks and reiterated in a phone conversation last week between their leaders, as two-day trade negotiations concluded in London, Chinese state-run media said Wednesday. The high-level meeting was believed to have centered on easing export controls on critical sectors. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the talks as "productive," while Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang was quoted as saying the two countries had "professional, rational, in-depth and candid exchanges." U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters early Wednesday following the lengthy talks, "We do absolutely expect that the topic of rare earth minerals and magnets, with respect to the United States of America, will be resolved in this framework of implementation." The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed frustration over China's slow removal of export controls on rare earths used in high-tech products, criticizing Beijing for failing to uphold the terms of the Geneva trade deal. China, meanwhile, has accused the Trump administration of imposing export controls on goods such as semiconductors despite the deal, under which the world's two largest economies established a 90-day truce in their trade war and committed to stepping back from their respective triple-digit tariff rates. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who met the press with Lutnick, said the two countries are "working together very closely" to ensure "the implementation goes forward speedily." The second round of trade negotiations, following the first held in Geneva, came after the 90-minute conversation between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday. It was their first known direct communication since the U.S. president's inauguration in January. The Chinese delegation at the London talks was led by Vice Premier He Lifeng, who oversees economic affairs, and Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. As part of retaliatory measures against high U.S. tariffs, Beijing in April introduced export controls on seven types of rare-earth minerals. China mines about 70 percent of the world's rare earths used in the production of smartphones, personal computers and vehicles. Related coverage: U.S., China hold high-level trade talks with rare earths in focus Japan, U.S. eye Ishiba-Trump summit in Canada on G7 margins Japan, EU eye launch of "competitive alliance" scheme to boost trade
Kyodo News
2 days ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
U.S., China agree on framework to implement Geneva trade accord
KYODO NEWS - 6 minutes ago - 11:28 | World, All The United States and China agreed on a framework to implement a consensus reached during May talks and reiterated in a phone conversation last week between their leaders, as two-day trade negotiations concluded in London, Chinese state-run media said Wednesday. The high-level meeting was believed to have centered on easing export controls on critical sectors. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the talks as "productive," while Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang was quoted as saying the two countries had "professional, rational, in-depth and candid exchanges." U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters early Wednesday following the lengthy talks, "We do absolutely expect that the topic of rare earth minerals and magnets, with respect to the United States of America, will be resolved in this framework of implementation." The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed frustration over China's slow removal of export controls on rare earths used in high-tech products, criticizing Beijing for failing to uphold the terms of the Geneva trade deal. China, meanwhile, has accused the Trump administration of imposing export controls on goods such as semiconductors despite the deal, under which the world's two largest economies established a 90-day truce in their trade war and committed to stepping back from their respective triple-digit tariff rates. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who met the press with Lutnick, said the two countries are "working together very closely" to ensure "the implementation goes forward speedily." The second round of trade negotiations, following the first held in Geneva, came after the 90-minute conversation between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday. It was their first known direct communication since the U.S. president's inauguration in January. The Chinese delegation at the London talks was led by Vice Premier He Lifeng, who oversees economic affairs, and Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. As part of retaliatory measures against high U.S. tariffs, Beijing in April introduced export controls on seven types of rare-earth minerals. China mines about 70 percent of the world's rare earths used in the production of smartphones, personal computers and vehicles. Related coverage: U.S., China hold high-level trade talks with rare earths in focus Japan, U.S. eye Ishiba-Trump summit in Canada on G7 margins Japan, EU eye launch of "competitive alliance" scheme to boost trade
