Tokyo April 14 2025: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Monday his country does not plan to make big concessions and won’t rush to reach a deal in upcoming tariff negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
Japan, a long-time U.S. ally, has been hit with 24% levies on its exports to the United States though these tariffs have, like most of Trump’s sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs, been paused for 90 days.
But a 10% universal rate remains in place as does a 25% duty for cars, which is set to be particularly painful. The U.S. is Japan’s biggest export destination and automobile shipments account for roughly 28% of its exports there.
The two countries will begin trade talks on Thursday in Washington that are expected to cover tariffs, non-tariff barriers and exchange rates.
“I’m not of the view that we should make big concessions for the sake of wrapping up negotiations quickly,” Ishiba said in parliament, though he ruled out slapping Japanese tariffs on U.S. imports as a countermeasure.
“In negotiating with the United States, we need to understand what’s behind Trump’s argument both in terms of the logic and the emotional elements behind his views,” Ishiba said, noting that U.S. tariffs have the potential to disrupt the global economic order.
