Minister Akazawa: Japan demands U.S. revise duties
Japan demands the U.S. “immediately revise duties,” otherwise it will be difficult to reach an agreement, Japan’s Minister for Economic Recovery Ryosei Akazawa told reporters after the fourth round of talks concluded in Washington.
“(The duty measures – ed.) are still regrettable. On the content (of the talks – ed.), we demand an immediate revision. Our position is that if this is not achieved, it will be difficult to conclude an agreement,” the minister said.
At the same time, he noted that some progress was made during the fourth round.
“The negotiations made sense to understand each other’s position. Both we and the U.S. side share the view that there is progress to reach an agreement. We will work to ensure that, while upholding our country’s national interests as much as possible, an agreement that benefits the two countries, Japan and the U.S., will be reached quickly,” Akazawa said.
The talks lasted 130 minutes. Japan was represented by Economic Recovery Minister Ryosei Akazawa, while the U.S. was represented by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Japan’s Foreign Ministry, in a release following the talks, also noted that progress was made. The two sides agreed to hold another round of consultations before the leaders meet at the G7 summit in June.
The U.S. ranks first in Japan’s exports. They account for 21.3 trillion yen ($146.5 billion). Automobile exports account for nearly a third. Until now, duties on Japanese cars in the U.S. amounted to 2.5%, after the introduction of additional duties – 27.5%. By the end of 2024, Japanese car exports to the United States amounted to 6.026 trillion yen (about 40 billion dollars), which is 28.3% of all Japanese exports to the United States.
The Japanese government has repeatedly stated that it will continue to advocate with the U.S., proving that Japanese automakers have made direct investments in the U.S. to the tune of $61 billion dollars and provided jobs for 2.3 million people. Japan has been a major investor in the U.S. for the past 5 years, so including Japan in the list of countries subject to duties is unfair.