US, Japanese officials to start trade consultations, Treasury says; Japan said it is sceptical
A cargo ship and containers are seen at an industrial port in Tokyo, Japan, on Feb 15, 2022. (File photo: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon)
WASHINGTON: Top US and Japanese officials agreed to start immediate working-level consultations after "frank and constructive" trade talks in Washington on Thursday (May 1), the US Treasury Department said on Friday, but Japanese accounts were more downbeat.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with Japan's Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa, another set of discussions sought by US trading partners to avert high tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump last month.
"During their frank and constructive discussions on fair and reciprocal trade, Secretary Bessent highlighted to Minister Akazawa both tariffs and non-tariff measures, the importance of economic security as national security, and other issues of concern," Treasury said in a statement.
Bessent, in a posting on X, said he was "highly encouraged by Japan’s fast and positive engagement with the United States" and expressed hope that the two allies could soon reach consensus on a range of bilateral issues.
Greer also welcomed Japan's engagement in discussions with the United States and reaffirmed the strong bilateral relationship between the United States and Japan.
However, Japanese accounts of the meeting struck a more cautious tone. The Nikkei newspaper reported earlier on Friday that US tariff negotiators appeared reluctant to lower levies on cars, steel and aluminium in Thursday's meeting, a stance that made the Japanese side feel that cooperation could be difficult.
Richard Katz, a former senior fellow at Carnegie Council for Ethics In International Affairs, said the US refusal to even discuss Trump's 25 per cent tariffs on autos and auto parts, steel, and aluminium was "quite an aggressive stance".
The two countries had talked of reaching an agreement by July, when the 90-day pause on Trump's reciprocal tariffs on Japan and other countries are supposed to end, but those prospects now appeared dimmer, he said.
Nikkei, citing unnamed sources, said Japanese officials explained the measures they would take to reduce Japan's huge trade surplus with the US such as reviewing non-tariff barriers on auto imports and expanding purchases of US agricultural goods.
But Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba later said "the tariffs, represented by the ones on cars, are absolutely unacceptable".
"Reduction of (the US) trade deficit should be possible ... and we'll make efforts to reduce it, but that should never sacrifice Japan's jobs," Ishiba said in an interview with Fuji News Network.
Akazawa told Reuters that the two sides hoped to meet again in mid-May.
On Apr 2, Trump imposed a 10 per cent tariff on all countries except Canada, Mexico and China, along with higher tariff rates for many big trading partners, including Japan, which faces a 24 per cent tariff rate starting in July unless it can negotiate a deal with the US.
Washington is pushing Japan to lower its own tariffs and Trump has accused the country of intentionally weakening the yen to give its exports a trade advantage - an accusation Tokyo denies. Trump's tariffs, including a 25 per cent tariff on imported cars, are already weighing heavily on the Japanese economy.
