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(Bloomberg) — Japan looks set to get priority in US tariff talks, moving to the front of a long line of countries seeking to roll back President Donald Trump’s so-called reciprocal duties, which are scheduled to kick in on Wednesday.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who along with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will lead the American side of the negotiations, said: “I would expect that Japan is going to get priority” among trading partners for coming forward very quickly.
The push to hold bilateral trade talks comes as Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba convened a full-cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning to discuss the tariffs. Later, his administration selected Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa to lead Japan’s delegation in the tariff talks.
Ahead of the meeting, Ishiba reiterated that the US tariffs are regrettable and voiced concerns over the impact they would have on Japan’s huge auto industry.
“The auto industry is the very pillar of our economy. These tariffs could also leave a deep impact across various industries,” Ishiba said ahead of the meeting.
Trump slapped Japan with a 24% across-the-board reciprocal tariff in addition to a 25% auto duty that took effect last week.
“I have very serious misgivings over the compatibility of the tariffs imposed by the US government with the WTO agreement and the Japan-US Trade Agreement,” Ishiba added.
The auto tariff is inconsistent with the Ishiba administration’s thinking with regards to the bilateral trade deal reached during Trump’s first term. That pact gave Tokyo the right to negotiate for the elimination of any tariffs on cars and auto parts imported into the US.
At that time, Trump and former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe struck a trade deal that gave US farmers greater access to the Japanese market while Tokyo was able to dodge extra tariffs on its auto exports to the US.
Abe’s close personal ties to Trump enabled Tokyo to smooth over any friction in its relations with Washington, analysts say. Ishiba doesn’t have that sort of relationship with the president. Akazawa, a former state minister of finance, largely lacks diplomatic experience.
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