WASHINGTON — Additional talks on a one-for-one trade deal between the US and Japan are expected later this month — with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba potentially visiting the White House to finalize what could be the first major bilateral pact to avert President Trump’s massive “Liberation Day” tariffs.
A Japanese delegation visited Washington Wednesday and met with Trump, who touted “big process” afterward. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other senior administration officials also met with the Tokyo group, led by economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa.
“There is still a gap in the positions of Japan and the United States. These will not be easy talks,” Ishiba said Thursday, according to the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. “Naturally I’m considering visiting the United States myself at the most appropriate time and meeting directly with President Trump.”
Ishiba said his team “spent considerable time and had frank and constructive discussions [and] I appreciate that talks were held that will lead to the next step.”
Trump, who spent about 75 minutes with the delegation, has publicly complained that Japan — which exported $68.5 billion more to the US last year than it received in American products — has significant non-tariff barriers that inhibit the sale of American vehicles and agricultural goods like rice.
Bessent told Yahoo! Finance in an interview Tuesday that the US is making rapid process in talks with 14 of America’s 15 top trading partners, excluding China.
Trump on April 2 announced “reciprocal” tariffs against dozens of countries, with Japanese imports set to be hit with a new 24% rate.
Those rates went into effect April 9 but were paused hours later by Trump — who issued a 90-day reprieve to allow for negotiations amid wild swings in US stocks and the bond market, which threatened to have a significant pass-through effect on loans such as mortgages.
A new 10% baseline tariff on most goods, which took effect April 5, remains in place. The higher reciprocal rates against certain countries were associated with the scale of their trade surpluses with the US.
Trump administration officials say they expect speedy enactment of many new trade deals — with South Korea, which faces a possible 25% tariff, and India, which faces a looming 26% duty, also expected to be among the first to strike a compromise.
The trade deals would be a major political achievement for Trump, who has for decades called for the restoration of tariffs to protect US manufacturing — while also outlining as an alternative more advantageous rules that benefit American businesses.
