Trump Eyes Trade Fight with Japan: WSJ

September 7, 2018

Washington- U.S. President Donald Trump may be ready to start a trade fight with Japan, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

During a telephone call to a Wall Street Journal columnist, Trump sounded "very focused on eliminating trade deficits" with U.S. trade partners, said an article posted on the online edition of the U.S. business daily.

The U.S. president "described his good relations with the Japanese leadership but then added, 'Of course that will end as soon as I tell them how much they have to pay,'" the article said.

Last month, The Washington Post ran a story that claimed Trump had expressed strong frustration at the U.S. trade deficit with Japan at a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in June.

During the "tense" meeting, Trump said, "I remember Pearl Harbor," according to the story.

Last year, the United States ran a trade deficit of 68.9 billion dollars with Japan, the third biggest after the deficits with China and Mexico.

The Trump administration views his country's deficit with Japan in the automotive sector as particularly problematic. It may urge Tokyo to take action to improve the situation in bilateral trade talks later this month. Jiji Press