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Korea Herald
27-05-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
KCCI chair meets Japan PM, calls for closer trade ties
Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Chey Tae-won, who also heads SK Group, met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday in Tokyo, calling for close economic cooperation between the two countries. The meeting came as Seoul and Tokyo mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations, according to the KCCI. Chey was joined by Park Il-joon, executive vice chairman of KCCI and Lee Hyung-hee, vice chairman of Seoul Chamber of Commerce and Industry and president of SK Supex Council. 'At a time when both Korea and Japan are facing difficulties due to the spread of global protectionism, including reciprocal tariffs from the US, there is a need for the two countries to deepen bilateral economic cooperation,' Chey was quoted as saying to Ishiba, requesting the Japanese government's support and attention for corporate activities for both countries. Chey also asked for Ishiba's interest in the upcoming APEC CEO Summit to be held in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, in October, hosted by KCCI. He also requested participation from leading Japanese companies. Following the meeting with Ishiba, Chey visited the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where he met with Chairman Ken Kobayashi. The visit was Chey's first to the JCCI in three years, with discussions centering on the upcoming bilateral chamber meeting and ways to enhance collaboration between the two organizations. The 14th chairs' meeting of the KCCI and JCCI is expected to take place in South Korea later this year. Chey is also expected to attend the 30th Nikkei Forum on the Future of Asia from Thursday to Friday. Last year, he participated as a speaker and stressed the importance of Korea-Japan cooperation.
Al Arabiya
04-04-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Japan PM says Trump tariffs a ‘national crisis'
US President Donald Trump's tariffs on Japanese goods are a 'national crisis,' Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday ahead of cross-party talks on mitigating the impact on the heavily export-dependent economy. Japanese firms are the biggest investors into the United States, but Trump on Thursday announced a hefty 24 percent levy on imports from the close US ally as part of global 'reciprocal' levies. The measures 'can be called a national crisis, and the government is doing its best with all parties' to lessen the impact, Ishiba said in parliament. He called, however, for a 'calm-headed' approach to negotiations with Trump, who has also imposed 25 percent tariffs on auto imports which came into force this week. Local media reported Friday that Japanese officials were attempting to organize a call between Ishiba and Trump, who held apparently friendly talks at the White House in February. Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya 'strongly demanded' to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in talks in Brussels on Thursday that the 'extremely regrettable' measures be reviewed, Tokyo said. Japan's main Nikkei 225 index fell 2.75 percent on Friday, adding to a 2.7 percent drop on Thursday after the S&P 500 on Wall Street dropped by the most in a day since 2020. Ishiba told ministers 'to take all measures necessary, including financing support,' for domestic industries and protecting jobs, government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters. Ishiba's meetings with party leaders later Friday were aimed at laying the groundwork for the supplementary budget, The Asahi Shimbun daily reported. 'Extremely grave' The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) said Trump's tariffs 'would have an extremely grave impact on the Japanese economy.' 'We strongly urge the government to continue its persistent negotiations for the exemption from tariff measures and to take all possible measures to minimize the impact on small and medium-sized enterprises and small businesses … by developing a detailed consultation system and strengthening cash management support,' the JCCI said Thursday. The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) also called for 'comprehensive support measures to ensure that Japan's automotive industry can maintain its foundation as a manufacturing base.' JAMA said its members have invested a cumulative total of more than $66 billion in US manufacturing as of 2024, generating over 110,000 direct US jobs and supporting more than 2.2 million others. Japanese carmakers ship about 1.45 million cars to the United States from Canada and Mexico, where they operate factories, Bloomberg News reported. By comparison, Japan exports 1.49 million cars directly to the United States, while Japanese automakers make 3.3 million cars in America. The US deficit with Japan was almost $70 billion last year. Japan mostly exports to the United States vehicles, auto parts, machinery, and electrical and electronic equipment. US imports the other way are mostly chemicals, plastics, rubber, and leather goods, as well as agricultural products and oil and cement. The White House has said that Japan has a 700 percent tariff on US rice imports, a claim Japan's farm minister called 'incomprehensible,' local media reported. In Japan, the auto sector employs about 5.6 million people directly or indirectly. Vehicles accounted for around 28 percent of Japan's 21.3 trillion yen ($142 billion) of US-bound exports last year. BMI (Fitch Solutions) estimated that in a worst-case scenario, there could be a hit of 0.7 percentage points to Japan's economy this year. Capital Economics was less pessimistic, predicting a 'quite small' impact of perhaps just 0.2 percent, saying that 'Japan isn't all that dependent on US demand.'
