Japan made progress in the fifth round of trade negotiations with U.S

Ryosei Akazawa, Tokyo’s chief tariff negotiator, said Japan made progress in the fifth round of trade negotiations with U.S. officials. He added that he aimed to end tariffs that hurt his country’s economy.

Akazawa claimed that tariffs imposed on autos, auto parts, steel, and aluminum, including some that had doubled to 50% along with the 10% general tariff, were causing daily losses to Japan’s economy. He, however, declined to disclose what progress they had made.

Akazawa previously said that Japan and the U.S. were arranging a meeting between Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and President Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada, which will start on June 15. The latest round of talks was the last in-person meeting between top Japanese and U.S. officials before the G7 leaders’ summit, where Trump is expected to meet Ishiba.

Akazawa says talks must balance urgency with national interests

Japan faces a 24% tariff rate in July unless it negotiates a deal with Washington. However, Akazawa disclosed last month that U.S. defense equipment purchases, ship-building technology collaboration, a revision of automobile import standards, and increased agricultural imports could be bargaining chips in tariff talks. The Minister in charge of Japan’s economic revitalization now says the trade negotiations must consider balancing urgency with the need to guard national interests.

Japan also hinted it was weighing whether to accept a cut in the rates as the United States continued resisting a complete removal of the duties. It proposed a mechanism to reduce the auto tariff rate based on how much countries contributed to the U.S. auto industry.

Under Japan’s latest proposal, Washington would also lower auto tariffs based on the number of vehicles Japanese automakers produced in the U.S. and the volume of cars exported from the U.S. plants to other markets.

“We want an agreement as soon as possible. The G-7 summit is on our radar, and if our leaders meet, we want to show what progress has been made.”

-Ryosei Akazawa, Chief trade negotiator for Japan

Akazawa strongly reiterated Japan’s request to review the tariff measures imposed. However, he stressed that Japan’s position had not changed and that the tariffs were still unacceptable, describing them as regrettable.

Terazawa says relying too much on U.S. trade is too risky

The Trump tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year https://t.co/rbBC11iynE

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025

Former Vice Minister for International Affairs at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Tatsuya Terazawa said relying too much on the trade between his country and the U.S. was risky. He pointed out that significant harm had already been done even if Tokyo could negotiate with Trump to secure tariff exemptions. Many countries, including Japan, have lost confidence in the long-term openness of the U.S. market.

Terazawa believes the potential economic harms were far too great for the countries affected by U.S. tariffs to hope that an American court would make the problem disappear or that the president would change his mind. He said Japan, in particular, was dangerously exposed to the U.S. market. Still, it also had the resources and opportunity to develop a multilateral strategy for coping with Washington’s “obstructionist” approach to trade.

According to the former Vice Minister, Japan, whose economy depended on exports, faced a 25% tariff on automobiles and auto parts, a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum, and a 24% tariff on all other goods it exported to the United States if all of Trump’s proposed measures enter force. He believes steep tariffs would make many Japanese goods too expensive for American consumers. The U.S. is Japan’s second-largest market after China (including Hong Kong), accounting for roughly 20% of all its exports.

Terazawa emphasized that Japan and other countries in a similar position needed to take action that did not depend on working with the United States. He added that Japan would have to expand its trade relationships and collaborate with other countries to strengthen the global trade system with or without the U.S. to offset the damage of Trump’s tariffs—at least for now.

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