As the United States looks for agreements amid trade wars, Trump joins tariff talks with Japan.
The high stakes for the United States after its tariffs rocked the economy and led the administration to reassure the public that it would quickly reach agreements are demonstrated by President Donald Trump’s direct intervention in trade talks with Japanese officials on Wednesday.
Top economic advisors who play a key role in the Republican president’s trade and tariff policies, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, also attended the meeting.
“Hopefully, a solution can be found that benefits Japan and the United States (GREAT!).” Prior to the meeting, Trump wrote in a social media post.
“A Great Honor to have just met with the Japanese Delegation on Trade,” he wrote after the meeting. Significant Advancement!
Given that China is pursuing its own set of trade agreements, the president’s decision to become actively involved in negotiations suggests that he wants to swiftly complete a number of trade agreements.
Trump swiftly placed a 90-day partial hold on import taxes and raised his already high tariffs against China to 145% after his April 2 announcement of the sweeping tariffs caused panic in the financial markets and sparked fears of a recession.
A 10% baseline tariff and a 25% tax on imported automobiles, auto parts, and steel and aluminum exports remain in place, but Japan was momentarily exempted from 24% general tariffs due to the pause.
With Japan charging an average tax rate of 1.9% on other countries’ goods and having a longstanding alliance with the U.S., the talks on Wednesday are a crucial indicator of whether the Trump administration can achieve a meaningful deal that reassures the markets, American voters and foreign allies.
U.S. economic rival China, meanwhile, is trying to capitalize on the turmoil around Trump’s announcements, with its leader, President Xi Jinping, touring nations of Southeast Asia and promoting his country as a more reliable trade partner.
Japan is among the first countries to start open negotiations with the U.S. Trump and other administration officials have said the phones have been “ringing off the hook” with dozens of countries calling, eager to strike deals with a president who views himself as a master negotiator to avoid tariffs when the 90-day pause ends. Israel and Vietnam have offered to zero out their tariff rates, but Trump has been noncommittal as to whether that would be sufficient.
On Thursday, Trump is scheduled to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who will likely be carrying messages on behalf of the European Union about how to resolve the tariffs Trump placed on the 27-state group.
Still, the U.S. president may also be feeling increased domestic pressures to settle any tariffs as many voters say they returned Trump to the White House with the specific goal of improving the economy. California Gov. Gavin Newsom filed a lawsuit Wednesday that argues that Trump overstepped his authority by declaring an economic emergency to levy his tariffs, with the Democrat saying in a statement that the tariffs have caused economic chaos.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that Trump’s tariff policies would hurt the U.S. economy, a direct warning to a White House trying to sell the import taxes as a long-term positive for the country.
“The level of tariff increases announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated, and the same is likely to be true of the economic effects which will include higher inflation and slower growth,” Powell said at the Economic Club of Chicago.
Japan, like many other nations trying to minimize the possible economic fallout from Trump’s tariffs, has been scrambling to respond. It has set up a special task force to assess the impact of the tariffs and offer loans to anxious companies.