Ryosei Akazawa says on his return to Japan, after a trip to the USA, that he had very in-depth discussions with American representatives.
During the trip, he met with the USA's Finance Minister Scott Bessent, the USA's Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and the USA's Trade Minister Howard Lutnick.
At a press conference in Washington, before his return, Akazawa stated that the talks lasted for more than two hours and that issues such as expanded bilateral trade, handling of trade barriers, and cooperation on economic security were up for discussion.
A new round of trade negotiations between Japan and the USA is planned for mid-May.
According to the Japanese newspaper Nikkei, the Trump administration has proposed that the recently introduced 25 percent tariffs on cars, steel, and aluminum from Japan should remain in the agreement they are aiming for.
The Trump administration has, in addition to these tariffs, also introduced 10 percent retaliatory tariffs – called "reciprocal" by the USA's President Donald Trump – on all Japanese goods. The retaliatory tariffs can be raised to 24 percent in July if no agreement between the countries has been reached by then.
