US President Donald Trump has struck a trade deal with Japan, reducing its tariffs from 25% to 15%.
The trade deal cuts tariffs on auto imports and does not impose new tariffs on other goods on Tokyo in exchange for a $550 billion package of investments and loans tied to the US.
On his Truth Social account, Trump wrote that "we just made a huge deal with Japan, possibly the biggest deal ever made. At my direction, Japan will invest $550 billion in the United States, which will receive 90% of the profits. This deal will create hundreds of thousands of jobs - there has never been anything like it. Perhaps most importantly, Japan will open its country to trade, including cars and trucks, rice and some other agricultural products, as well as other things. Japan will pay reciprocal tariffs to the United States at a rate of 15%. This is a very exciting moment for the United States of America, and especially because we will always have excellent relations with the country of Japan. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba welcomed Trump's announcement and confirmed that he had reached an agreement with the United States, the BBC reported.
He pointed out that "Japan's tariff rate, which was set to increase to 25% under reciprocal tariffs, has been kept at 15%. This is the lowest value to date among countries with trade surpluses with the US".
The trade agreement does not include any tariff reductions on the Japanese side, including on agricultural products, Shigeru Ishiba added.
"This is precisely the result of my consistent advocacy and strong lobbying of the US since I proposed "investment over tariffs" to President Trump at our White House summit in February this year," the Prime Minister added.