Japan Relieved to Avert Near-Term U.S. Tariffs

September 27, 2018

New York- The Japanese government is relieved to win assurances from U.S. President Donald Trump that Washington will not impose additional tariffs on vehicles imported from Japan anytime soon.

The Trump administration threatened to impose new tariffs on vehicle imports from Europe in trade talks with the European Union in July. The EU agreed to start talks on lowering tariffs on nonautomotive industrial products in exchange for averting the vehicle duties.

Increasing pressure on Tokyo to strike a bilateral trade agreement with Washington, Trump earlier this month said, "If we don't make a deal with Japan, Japan knows it's a big problem for them."

In his meeting with Trump in New York on Wednesday, Abe accepted a request from the U.S. president that the two countries start talks on a trade agreement on goods, or TAG.

The TAG talks may become a political risk for Abe as prospects for the negotiations are uncertain. Tokyo may be pressured to lower tariffs on beef and other politically sensitive products at paces faster than under the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal that the country concluded with 10 other economies, sources familiar with the situation said.

"Japan's proposals were accepted," Japanese economic and fiscal policy minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters after the Abe-Trump meeting, denying that Tokyo made concessions without getting anything in return.

The sources said the United States may use the threat of tariffs again if Japan drags its feet on the TAG talks.

The TAG talks may be difficult, but Japan is ready to go ahead with them "in a manner that serves its national interests," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference in Tokyo. Jiji Press