President Donald Trump has revealed a new tariff agreement with Japan, marking a ‘massive’ trade deal between the two nations.
Initially, Trump had considered imposing a 25 percent tariff on goods imported to the United States, but the countries have now agreed to reduce tariffs to 15 percent, with Japan pledging to invest $550 billion.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba commented that this was ‘the lowest figure to date among countries with trade surpluses with the US’.
Trump remarked: “I just signed the largest trade deal in history, I think maybe the largest deal in history with Japan.
“They had their top people here, and we worked on it long and hard. And it’s a great deal for everybody. I always say it has to be great for everybody. It’s a great deal.”
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Approximately 25 percent of Japan’s exports to the US are from the automotive industry. Although specific details remain unclear, the BBC notes that Ishiba indicated the US would reduce its automotive tariffs to 15 percent.
The announcement sparked debates on Reddit, with many users expressing skepticism towards the figures, suggesting they seemed ‘made up’.
One commenter stated: “It’s probably just a completely made up number.”
Another queried: “Is this 550 billion $ investment in one year or how many years?”
A third user wrote: “I’ve been working in international procurement and logistics for over 15 years and I do not know what he means when he says this.”
Yet another remarked: “It’s just made up.”
UNILAD has reached out to the White House for clarification.
This development comes as Trump’s August 1 tariff deadline approaches.
The president has also announced a 19 percent tariff for the Philippines, while US goods will face zero tariffs there.
Trump said: “We concluded our Trade Deal, whereby The Philippines is going OPEN MARKET with the United States.”
It is reported that Trump is now focusing on Europe, stating: “We have Europe coming in tomorrow, and the next day, we have some other ones coming in.”
Trump recently expressed his intentions regarding the European Union and Mexico, two primary trading partners, in a post on Truth Social.
In his message to the EU, Trump wrote: “We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, Trade Deficits, engendered by your Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies, and Trade Barriers.
“Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the European Commission stated that EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic will be engaging in discussions with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in the coming days.
“The EU’s primary focus is on achieving a negotiated outcome with the US. Intensive technical and political level contact is ongoing,” the spokesperson added.