Japan, US to advance cooperation on US$550 billion trade deal

Japan and the United States are set to strengthen their cooperation on a trade deal worth US$550 billion, despite President Donald Trump's changing tariff policies. Japan's Trade and Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa confirmed during a meeting in Washington with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer that the agreement's terms remain unchanged.

He reaffirmed that the US will not impose higher tariffs on Japanese goods than those agreed in July last year and that the two nations will reinforce critical minerals supply chains. Both sides shared the concern that China's export controls could damage their supply chains. Japan has committed to investing US$550 billion in strategic US industries, including oil and gas, critical minerals, and nuclear power, by the end of Trump's second term.

The US administration reduced the tariffs on Japanese cars and other products to 15 per cent and promised "no-stacking" treatment, exempting imports from Japan with pre-existing tariffs of 15 per cent or higher from further levies. The announcement of the first three projects worth about US$36 billion, including a gas-fired generating facility in Ohio, was made in mid-February.

Japan and US unveiled three more projects worth a total of US$73 billion in March, with plans for additional projects associated with small modular reactors, large-scale nuclear reactors, and crude oil infrastructure.