On the 23rd local time, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga stated in a live broadcast that Japan and the United States have reached an agreement on tariff issues.
The US will impose a 15% tariff on Japan and increase imports of American rice.
Furthermore, Suga mentioned that both Japan and the US have agreed to strengthen their supply chain cooperation with the US through investments by Japanese companies in sectors such as semiconductors, steel, shipbuilding, energy, and automobiles. This is aimed at ensuring economic security.
Suga also stated that under Japan’s current “Minimum Import Quota System” for rice, the proportion of rice imported from the US will be increased, stating that this move will not compromise Japan’s agricultural sector.
It was revealed that relevant Japanese government officials disclosed that in the subsequent US-Japan trade negotiations, regarding automobiles, the US has imposed a 12.5% tariff on imports from Japan, adding to the previous 2.5% tariff rate, totaling 15%. Tariffs on steel and aluminum remain at the current 50%.
Japan is one of the major trading partners of the United States, and the two countries have experienced trade frictions over trade deficits, exchange rates, and car market access. On the 7th of this month, Trump sent a letter to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, announcing that starting August 1, he would raise the tariffs on almost all Japanese goods exported to the US to 25%. (Reported by Bai Chunyang and Lin Bohan)