By Daniel Leussink and Nathan Layne
WASHINGTON/TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan is set to begin tariff negotiations with the United States in Washington on Wednesday, one of the first countries to test President Donald Trump’s willingness to relent on sweeping import duties that have roiled markets and stoked recession fears.
Trump said he would personally attend the meeting.
“Japan is coming in today to negotiate Tariffs, the cost of military support, and ‘TRADE FAIRNESS’,” he said in a post on Truth Social.
“I will attend the meeting, along with Treasury & Commerce Secretaries. Hopefully something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan and the USA!”
Japan has been hit with 24% levies on its exports to the United States although these rates have, like most of Trump’s tariffs, been paused for 90 days. But a 10% universal rate remains in place as does a 25% duty for cars, a mainstay of Japan’s export-reliant economy.
Tokyo’s top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, will meet Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer for discussions that could also address energy projects and the thorny issue of exchange rates.
Bessent has said there is a “first mover advantage” given Washington has said more than 75 countries have requested talks. However, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Monday that his country, a close U.S. ally, won’t rush to reach a deal and does not plan to make big concessions.
Ishiba has, for now, ruled out countermeasures to the U.S. tariffs.
“The difficulty for the Japanese team is that the United States has created a huge amount of leverage for itself, unilaterally,” said Kurt Tong, managing partner at The Asia Group, a Washington-based consultancy.
“The U.S. is offering to not hit Japan with sticks, and Japan is stuck in a position of offering a whole lot of carrots. And from their perspective, it feels like economic coercion,” said Tong, a former State Department official.
Trump has long complained about the U.S. trade deficit with Japan and other countries. In his view U.S. businesses have been ripped off by unfair trade practices and intentional efforts by other countries to maintain weak currencies.
Bessent met Vietnam’s deputy prime minister last week to discuss trade and has invited South Korea’s finance minister to Washington for talks next week. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will meet Trump at the White House on Thursday to discuss tariffs imposed on the European Union.
The scope of Wednesday’s discussions was not yet clear.
Bessent has said he is hoping to strike deals that would cover tariffs, non-tariff barriers and exchange rates, though Tokyo has lobbied to keep the latter separate.
Possible Japanese investment in a multi-billion dollar gas project in Alaska could also feature, Bessent has said.
Japan hopes that pledges to expand investment in the United States will help to convince the U.S. that the two countries can achieve a “win-win” situation without tariffs, Akazawa said ahead of his departure.
The Trump administration has said it also wants to resolve other issues with Japan such as the amount Tokyo pays towards the cost of hosting U.S. troops in Japan, the largest overseas deployment globally.
(Reporting by Daniel Leussink, Yoshifumi Takemoto, Leika Kihara and Kiyoshi Takenaka in Tokyo; Nathan Layne in Washington; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Gerry Doyle and Frances Kerry)
