Japan’s tariff negotiator Akazawa on Tuesday said that there is no point in finalising a deal with the US without having an agreement on automobile tariffs. Akazawa said that Japan “won’t set deadline, including Aug 1, in negotiating with US on trade”. He further said that the automobile industry is the core of Japan’s economy and that it won’t tolerate 25% of tariffs. “Auto parts are inflicting huge losses on Japan firms,” Akazawa said.
Trump on Monday said that he is imposing 25 percent tariffs on Japan and South Korea. These were the first official letters sent to these trading partners as the deadline to reach trade deals with Washington approaches. Over the weekend, Trump had said he would begin sending up to 15 letters starting Monday to inform countries that he was reinstating the heavy tariffs he had paused back in April.
In letters to the leaders of Japan and South Korea, which were nearly identical in wording, Trump said the tariffs would take effect from August 1. He explained this was because their trade ties with the US were “unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.”
He also warned both countries—key US allies in East Asia—that things could escalate further if they reacted negatively to the new tariffs. At the same time, Trump said he was open to lowering the tariffs if Japan and South Korea made changes to their trade practices.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba had on Sunday responded by saying he “won’t easily compromise” in trade talks with the US.
Trump had first announced a wide set of tariffs on global economies on April 2, which he called “Liberation Day,” claiming the US had been “ripped off” in global trade.
After that announcement caused market instability, he postponed the tariffs for 90 days—a period that ends this Wednesday. However, the administration has now said the tariffs will not return until August 1, effectively pushing the deadline further, even though officials had previously denied any extension.
Although the Trump administration once aimed to sign “90 deals in 90 days” and hoped to finalize many agreements by early July, only a few deals have been reached so far.