Tariff
Trump lowers with a new deal of Japan
US President Trump had sent a number of letters to trading partners in which he threatened with higher tariffs – also to Japan. Now he makes a new deal known. And what about the EU?
US President Donald Trump reduces his customs claim to products from Japan and has announced a trade agreement with the country. Trump said that it was agreed on tariffs of 15 percent on his online platform Truth Social.
Weeks earlier he had announced tariffs of 25 percent. The United States had announced numerous customs sets on products from other countries at the start of August 1st, also from the EU. It is open whether there is an agreement between Americans and Europeans.
Trump posted Truth Social after the Japan Deal: “I will only reduce tariffs if a country agrees to open its market. If not, there is much higher tariffs!” Trump announced in another post that Indonesia is now opening its market for the United States.
How is the situation in the EU?
The EU Commission has long been negotiating with Washington in the customs dispute. Trump had announced tariffs of 30 percent on the import of EU products from August 1st. While both sides struggle for a solution, the EU Commission is striving for green light for possible countermeasures. A spokesman for the Commission announced that the EU countries will be presented with a list of countermeasures for approval.
According to previous information, the countermeasures include new tariffs on industrial and agricultural imports from the USA worth around 95 billion euros. The list has been revised since then. A phone call between EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic and US trade minister Howard Lutnick was planned for the afternoon.
Japan’s head of government: “The lowest customs set”
Japan is an important trading partner for the USA. Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said in Tokyo: “This is the lowest customs set among the countries that have trade surpluses with the United States.” The Nikkei index of the Tokyo stock exchange increased vigorously.
Trump wrote of “reciprocal” “mutual” tariffs. As an argument for tariffs introduced to the USA, he refers to alleged imbalances and disadvantages for the United States in international trade. Ishiba said that the agreement does not set the reduction in tariffs on the Japanese side.
Trump: On my “instruction”
Trump wrote Truth on Truth: “We have just concluded a huge agreement with Japan, perhaps the largest agreement that has ever been concluded.” There has never been anything like that. Japan will invest $ 550 billion (around 470 billion euros) in the United States on his “instruction”. 90 percent of the profit remained in the United States, where hundreds of thousands of jobs would be created.
“Protect what needs to be protected”
Japan will open up to the trade, wrote Trump and listed cars, trucks, rice and other products. The additional tariffs of 25 percent on cars introduced in April were one of the most difficult points in the negotiations of the two trading partners. Trump had claimed that Japan did not import enough US cars if you compare it to the number of Japanese vehicles that came to his country.
The Japanese economic newspaper “Nikkei” quoted a Japanese government representative that the sector -specific tariffs would be reduced to cars and auto parts to 12.5 percent. Together with the original US car tariffs of 2.5 percent, imported cars would be loaded with 15 percent.
Japan’s chief negotiator Ryosei Akazawa had concentrated on the lowering of the auto tariffs, as this is Japan’s largest export sector in retail with the USA. According to Ishiba, the agreement does not provide any quotas for Japanese cars that are delivered to the USA. “We have led negotiations to protect what needs to be protected and to achieve an agreement that corresponds to the national interests of both countries,” said the premier.
Customs announcements by letter
Around two weeks ago, US President Japan sent a customs announcement by letter. It stated that all products from the Asian business nation, which are introduced to the United States, would be charged for 25 percent from August 1st. This has now been reduced to 15 percent.
According to Japanese information, the agreement does not extend to the 50 percent tariffs that the United States raise on steel and aluminum imports. Trump had sent customs letters with different sentences to countries.
dpa
Source: Stern
