Japan's trade minister fails to win U.S. assurance on tariff exemptions

Trump should stick to his gut instincts and tariff the hell out of countries that have trade imbalances.

Then double down on those that are ripping America off by not paying for their defense.

This is by no means one country alone: but Canada, most of EU, this one and the other usual suspects. They know who they are because they have had their snouts in the trough for years.

Muto continued, *I don't get it. I mean... I got down and licked his shoes when told to. I literally got down on all fours and spit-shined his shoes with my tongue. And then I continued to beg and beg and beg -- I even cried! We are an ally!! Sure, Canada is too, and they aren't exempt, but we are JAPAN! We always seek exemptions and we USUALLY benefit from both sides of things. I just don't get it. I have to run, though... I'm scheduled for more boot licking in a few minutes."

Build the cars for the US market in America.

Or not and "pay" the tariff.

As for retaliatory tariffs, grin bow and bare it.

For items that are considered essential, the economic damage as the "tariff" hits the J shelves are economically self harming.

I would also consider the present "value and purpose" of contributing to the security of Japan and the maintenance of international peace and security?

How would the present US administration respond if the government of China was to blockade South/East China Sea shipping routes, in preparation for an invasion of Taiwan?

Build the cars for the US market in America.

Or not and "pay" the tariff.

Japanese dont pay US tariffs, Americans pay them.

These are US taxes on foreign goods and resources that American companies and citizens pay for. They penalize Americans who buy foreign items or things made from foreign resources. Meant to generate money for Trump to provide tax breaks to the rich Americans.

Don’t agree with this obsession with tariffs from Trump as it does over simplify global trade and relations, but also understand him trying to make a reset and new start line to the whole game.

Any country unwilling or unable to even comprehend the new paradigm will struggle. Change averse Japan who has a lazy political class with the LDP at the helm , those that never really had to learn to compromise or negotiate on anything other than their own terms may find themselves in deep water with no paddle to work with.

If this ushers in a newer, slicker and faster J political team , one up to the task, then thatll be a huge long term win. Adapt to change or become obsolete and please LDP step out of the way if you are not up to the task. It’s been decades since a change from the LDP juggernaut was even a possibility, but it’s very possible now.

Peter14,

The price increases, assuming of course these so called "tariffs" are implemented could, probably will have serious detrimental fallout for J economy.

Would I have brought a new car if, let call it a 25% hit to my handbag/purse suddenly materialized, nope I would just keep old model, hoover it out more often.

This is not just levied at nations Trump says have "treated America very badly" simply for having trade surpluses with America. This is also levied at nations the US has a surplus with "treated very badly" like Australia.

There is no sense to this except when viewed as Trump taxing the crap out of everyone in America and damaging trade relations with every nation with whom America does business.

Trump with no knowledge or understanding of diplomacy or alliances and their benefits, sees everything as business and making money off everyone you can, no matter what happens.

Trump is an imbecile and needs to be circumvented for the length of his tenure and unfortunately America is now the most unreliable of allies and partners. Reduce contact with America until they can rid themselves of this convicted criminal and his muppets.

Politics, politicians, 2025, 21st century seem to lurch from one extreme to another.

It's called reciprocal tariffs, either lower yours and allow equal market access or US will match your higher rates.

No exceptions warranted, especially for countries with persistent large trade surpluses with US - like Japan

I do actually think that this opens up a rare chance to push Japan to open it's market. Tell them they will be exempt from tariffs if they lift ALL tariffs on produce, dairy, cars, electronics, and other products from the US. If they won't, why should Japan be exempt from tariffs?

It's called reciprocal tariffs, either lower yours and allow equal market access or US will match your higher rates.

No it isn't reciprocal at all, Australia has no tariffs on US steel or Aluminum.

"Because of the preferential tariff arrangement under the AUSFTA, 99% of U.S.-origin goods enter Australia duty free.

No exceptions warranted, especially for countries with persistent large trade surpluses with US - like Japan

Why impose tariffs on countries the US has large surplus with?

Its called a Trump money grab.

Another evidence how aggressively and brutal is the US administration for their allies. And how foolish was and still is Japan to believe the anti China hysteria from the warlords in Wall Street which will make the Japanese poorer and keep the greed firmly in place in Washington. Welcome to America!

Tariffs are a tax that affects the price of commodities.

Thats simple.

Why has the whole world since post WW2 been making efforts to reduce tariffs and have free trade ?

Were we wrong all these years.?

So now, tariffs are good ?

Isnt the USA the most prosperous nation on earth ? What exactly is the problem being the richest country ?

how foolish was and still is Japan to believe the anti China hysteria from the warlords in Wall Street

American faults have nothing to do with the correct information regarding Chinese aggression and attempts to control territory not China's. China is still bad, it is just being joined by America under Trumps leadership, which like Xi's is deplorable.

Tariffs could morph into a perverse form of regressive rationing on societies most venerable.

Why?

Simply negotiate a compromise find a medium.

Muto continued, I don't get it. I mean... I got down and licked his shoes when told to. I literally got down on all fours and spit-shined his shoes with my tongue. And then I continued to beg and beg and beg -- I even cried! We are an ally!! Sure, Canada is too, and they aren't exempt, but we are JAPAN!*

Japan,

It’s shameful to ask and beg like that. You need to be like China. Raise tariffs back. Build your own military. Be self reliant. 独立自尊。The 自尊 part is lacking when you do that. It’s pathetic.

the u.s. already has tariffs on imported cars that start with the first car. it’s 50% for light trucks. that sure sounds like “unfair.”

japan tariffs don’t begin until after a certain quota is reached.

japan doesn’t have many american cars anyway. never has. mercedes and audi do well. make a good car and people will buy it. make a lousy car with no service to support it and people won’t buy it.

and you can’t negotiate with crazy people.

Goal behind reciprocity is to LOWER global tariffs, helping spur economic growth and lower prices for consumers struggling with affordability due to Covid triggered excessive spending, especially Biden Admin.

Many countries already quietly lowering tariffs.

Beauty this 'reciprocal' approach is its fundamental fairness and speed of implementation, no wasting time with endless trade negotiations etc.

Goal behind reciprocity is to LOWER global tariffs, helping spur economic growth and lower prices for consumers struggling with affordability due to Covid triggered excessive spending, especially Biden Admin.

This is NOT about reciprocity when placed on nations that do not tariff US goods. Your not listening. Like Trump doesnt listen.

HopeSpringsEternalToday 06:39 pm JST

Beauty this 'reciprocal' approach is its fundamental fairness and speed of implementation, no wasting time with endless trade negotiations etc.

So placing tariffs on Australian goods is so that it makes Australia put reciprocal tariffs on US goods? Thats crazy talk. But then thats Trump for you, crazy. As are his follower muppets.

Japan enjoyed a trade surplus of nearly $70 billion last year. Japan has run a trade surplus with the USA for as far back as I can remember. Good luck mercantile Japan, you will need it with this administration.

Expect Japan's economy to become worse

Truth is United States are an imperialist country trying to safeguard its own investments, they have an interest that societies are increasingly weak, lost, and therefore easy prey for economic, political, and ideological interests. 

And the funny thing is they want to give morality lessons to other countries...

Great news is Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, etc. will soon be buying LOTS of clean LNG from close by Alaska, so Japan can import less dirty coal, have greater energy security, cleaner air, and better trade relations with US!

DJT = MAGA & Rich - MANY $TRILLIONS in Alaskan Gas!

Great news is Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, etc. will soon be buying LOTS of clean LNG from close by Alaska,

Japan and South Korea both get most of their needs in the worlds best LNG from close by Australia. That wont change no matter what Trump does in Alaska.

Outside of the stack em high sardine world of Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya etc opportunity is calling.

Housing is vast, compounds are cheap, with land to grow your own produce, if time allows.

The agriculture sector need reform, depopulation has taken its toll, the next generation wants to be "big city astronaut's" not tractor jockeys.

SW Alaska's far closer than Australia by sea to Japan and South Korea, who both intend to invest in the infrastructure connecting gas fields to LNG terminals.

More competition's good for pricing, surely Japan and South Korea will lock in favorable pricing agreements as a result of their sizable capital project investments.

DJT stated Alaskan gas projects will be largest in history

DJT - MAGA & Energy Dominant!

The US has the upper hand because America produces little and only low quality products that most countries don’t want, so adding tariffs to US goods in retaliation is meaningless.

Countries shouldn’t be so worried about tariffs though. Americans will take the burden and eat all the added costs.

Americans and DJT are gladly accepting companies efforts to re-shore jobs and manufacturing to the US to avoid tariffs, while benefiting from low corp. taxes, fewer regulations, low energy costs and ZERO tariffs!

+3 $Trillion in investment commitments already since DJT elected in order to re-shore manufacturing to US!

One thing I can absolutely guarantee…No amount of negotiations and tarrifs will sell American trucks in Japan. They simply don’t fit the market.

America is reverting to a commodity based economy, selling natural resources and unprocessed goods. This won’t change until American workers and companies are willing to be paid what Chinese/Vietnamese/etc workers are for the same amount and quality of labor.

I’m not holding my breath waiting for that to happen.

...cleaner air, and better trade relations with US!

A clear evidence how the US administration is trying to manipulate the narrative.

Perhaps we should mention the topic of LNG from the American market, far from clean compared to Russian natural gas. From the time that it is extracted using a destructive drilling method called fracking, liquefied natural gas leaves a greenhouse gas footprint that is 33% worse than coal, when processing and shipping are taken into account, according to a new Cornell study.  

LNG terminals release harmful air pollutants—such as volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter—that can contribute to increased incidences of respiratory disease, heart disease, and cancer.

Indeed, a 2019 study attributed a decade of growth in global atmospheric methane emissions to the fracking boom in the United States.

What's more, LNG — which the U.S. sends in by the ton — is by definition much more expensive than Russian gas. This has hurt the bottom line of the EU's top manufacturing countries, a list headed by Germany, Italy and Eastern European nations.

Muto said the two sides agreed to keep discussing to find ways to establish a “win-win” relationship that would serve national interests of both countries.

The US and Japan are already in a win-win relationship, as they both are with many countries.

Trump is trying his best to destroy these relationships.

FosToday 06:07 pm JST

And how foolish was and still is Japan to believe the anti China hysteria from the warlords in Wall Street

Japan knows far more than Wall Street about the China threat.

quercetumToday 06:31 pm JST

Japan,

You need to be like China.

China is the second-last country on earth that anyone should try to be like, after North Korea.

HopeSpringsEternalToday 07:26 pm JST

SW Alaska's far closer than Australia by sea to Japan and South Korea

But the Aussies can be trusted. Trump can't.

You don't leave something as vital as energy to someone that can't be trusted. Look what happened when Europe trusted Putin.

China is not an enemy, China is a success story. That’s why is viewed negatively by Washington. 

Apart from strengthening ties with the United States (essentially buying billions of dollars of weapons), Japan should also strive independently to have a direct dialogue with China and build mutual trust.

For four decades China has rose to economic significance in relative peace, unlike United States of America. China is the model the world needs to study and replicate.

Let's not forget that commercial or military interests that often have little to do with ideals. 

FosToday 11:16 pm JST

China is not an enemy

Sorry, but the "peaceful rise" lie fell apart a long time ago. No-one is fooled by China anymore.

If China were a trustworthy partner, these huge missteps by Trump would be a golden opportunity for it to win favor and influence. However, China will blow it just like it always does, by being even worse.

Nothing unusual here. The manipulative narrative of the US new and old administration is the same, because that is the nature of the country: I am referring to economic and financial powers, clear-cut forces and power centers that have nothing institutional and no democratic legitimacy.

Hate to repeat myself, but every rational reader knows very well by now that the only military risk that we face from China is if we continue as a proxy for the US in its endless wars

trump is trying to create a national emergency to install himself as the dictator for life he wants to be.

it’s interesting that countries being threatened by him have more backbone than congress, the courts and the american people.

Trump will go after Japan hard. Japan cannot duck. Trump is picking off other countries one by one.

Japan needs to lead a coalition of the other countries against American trade policies; give and take preferential access to Mexico, Canada and the EU while having all those countries but large tariffs on America.

Japan will keep buying billions of dollars of American weapons which does not need, and expensive and highly polluting LNG gas from Texas, because Japan is where the rhetoric anti-China is the strongest.

We see it in these forums on a daily basis: the usual suspects brainwashing common citizens who know nothing on geopolitics about potential risks and sci-fi theories, to ensure the US financial markets are functioning for the warlords and produce profits. It is called the law of US industrial military complex, the same one that President Dwight Eisenhower warned against in 1961.

We have seen it in Eastern Europe and Middle East, and the smoke from Washington is moving East

As predicted. At the end of the day, Japan will win out.

When trump imposes tariffs, shut down yankee militarily bases in retaliation.

Japanese media has been flooding Japan with the anti-China message for close to a decade at the behest of the USA government. How the Japanese responsible for this think they are benefiting the Japanese people is a mystery to me. Any Japanese economic grown in recent years has been built on the backbone of the surging Chinese economy. The two countries should be working together for the benefit of two great peoples.

because Japan is where the rhetoric anti-China is the strongest

Expect Japan's economy to become worse

How much worse can it get?

I wanted to comment but upon reading the other comments I just would like to thank the poster Peter14 for his. It's a sad moment in time to be an American. No matter who you voted for, we are all being damaged on so many fronts by this completely inept, careless and reckless man who is willing to sell the soul of America to the devil all while posing as a fighter and savior of Christian values.

The Japanese Government has a 700 percent tariff on American rice to Japan. The party is over.

Do the people being horribly being misled by Trump not understand that ruining relations and relationships with "healthy, democratic nations" is not only not necessary but absolutely the wrong way of going about it ?!

The US business leaders and our elected officials are the ones who created the "mess" we're in regarding a lack of self-sufficiency in many industries. Punishing others and hurting our own people is childish and reckless. I understand our President is clueless, but the fact that so many Americans follow his lead down the wrong path is beyond words. I try to keep hope alive and pray the future generations only read about this in history "books" rather than be living in the aftermath. My God, sounds like an apocalyptic movie. MAGA fans, beware. It will be on you.

I understand our President is clueless,

Biden was clueless, The American people are now very aware and replaced him with Trump.

Be a part of the solution instead a part part of the problem.

To the good people disagreeing with my posts. Dare I say? Truth hurts. Y'all are following Vladimir's puppet to America's demise. You can be proud, but no other person in the world in their right mind will agree with you. Only the likes of the brainwashed souls in the USSR (Russia now but, not really) and some other beautiful dictatorial nations in our world will.

God Bless America. I hope Mr. Trump wakes up one day and realizes HE needs to change or his country, OUR country, will wake up to something truly unpleasant for all.

Reciprocal tariffs are negotiated multilaterally and formalized in a free trade agreement like the current Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Japan has ratified both multilateral trade agreements. The USA has ratified zero.

It's called reciprocal tariffs

Well that was so foretold.

SW Alaska's far closer than Australia by sea to Japan and South Korea, who both intend to invest in the infrastructure connecting gas fields to LNG terminals.

Tokyo to Alaska = 5,325km

Tokyo to Darwin = 5,429km

Not an appreciable difference in distance. Contracts for LNG generally last for a decade or more to ensure uninterrupted supply.

Contracts with Australian suppliers are locked in so regardless of what Trump does now, its going to be a very long time before the US can sell large amounts to Japan, China or South Korea no matter how much it wants to. Buying out contracts with years to go on them would make any purchase from the US end up costing more than the existing LNG contracts.

Takaichi would have a much higher chance of getting that.