日本貿易特使稱，日本堅持要求美國取消關稅

 Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:

Japan is sticking to demand for US to eliminate tariffs, trade envoy says

Reuters -Leika Kihara

Mon, May 19, 2025 at 7:24 p.m. PDT·2 min read

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, said on Tuesday there was no change to Tokyo's stance of demanding an elimination of U.S. tariffs in bilateral trade negotiations.

Tokyo will not rush into clinching a trade deal if doing so risked hurting the country's interests, he said.

"The slew of U.S. tariffs including reciprocal tariffs as well as those on automobiles, car parts, steel and aluminium, are regrettable. There's no change to our stance of seeking a review, which is to say an elimination, of them," Akazawa told a regular press conference.

Akazawa said the two countries held working-level trade talks in Washington on Monday. The schedule of a third round of ministerial-level negotiations was yet to be fixed, he added.

Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday that Akazawa will travel to Washington this week to attend the third round of talks potentially starting on Friday.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is expected to attend the talks, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will be absent, Kyodo reported without citing sources.

On April 2, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 10% tariffs on all countries except Canada, Mexico and China, along with higher tariff rates for many big trading partners, including Japan, which faces a 24% tariff rate starting in July unless it can negotiate a deal with Washington.

Japanese policymakers and ruling party lawmakers have said they see no merit in striking a deal with the United States unless a 25% tariff on automobile imports is lifted, given the industry's economic importance.

While Japan was the first major economy to start bilateral trade talks with Washington, Britain was the first to strike a deal with the Trump administration. China and the United States also agreed to a 90-day truce in their trade war that had threatened a global recession.

With initial hope of a quick deal failing, the Nikkei newspaper reported last week that Japan may water down its demand to a reduction, rather than an elimination, of U.S. tariffs.

A source with knowledge of the negotiations has told Reuters that Japan is considering a package of proposals to gain U.S. concessions that may include increased imports of U.S. corn and soy, technical cooperation in shipbuilding, and revision to inspection standards for imported automobiles.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Tom Hogue and Shri Navaratnam)

Translation

日本貿易特使稱，日本堅持要求美國取消關稅

東京（路透社）—日本首席貿易談判代表赤澤良聖 (Ryosei Akazawa) 週二表示，東京要求在雙邊貿易談判中取消美國關稅的立場沒有改變。

他說，如果貿易協議可能會損害日本的利益，東京就不會急於達成協議。

赤澤在例行新聞發布會上表示： “美國徵收的大量關稅，包括對等關稅以及針對汽車、汽車零件、鋼鐵和鋁的關稅，令人遺憾。我們尋求重新審視的立場沒有改變，也就是說, 要取消這些關稅。”

赤澤稱，兩國週一在華盛頓舉行了工作級別的貿易會談。他補充說，第三輪部長級談判的時間表尚未確定。

日本共同社週二報道稱，赤澤本週將前往華盛頓參加可能在週五開始的第三輪會談。

共同社在未引述消息來源之下稱，美國貿易代表 Jamieson Greer 預計將出席此次會談，而財政部長貝森特將缺席。

4月2日，美國總統特朗普對除加拿大、墨西哥和中國以外的所有國家徵收10%的關稅，同時對包括日本在內的許多主要貿易夥伴提高關稅稅率，即從7月開始面臨24%的關稅稅率, 除非能與華盛頓達成協議。

日本政策制定者和執政黨議員表示，鑑於汽車產業的經濟重要性，他們認為除非取消 25% 的汽車進口關稅，否則與美國達成協議毫無意義。

日本是第一個與華盛頓展開雙邊貿易談判的主要經濟體，而英國則是第一個與特朗普政府達成協議的國家。中國和美國也同意就威脅全球經濟衰退的貿易戰實行為期 90 天的休戰。

日本由於最初希望快速達成協議的願望落空，《日經新聞》上週報道稱，它可能會降低其要求，即是降低美國關稅而不是取消它。

一位了解談判情況的消息人士告訴路透社，日本正在考慮一攬子提議以獲得美國的讓步，其中可能包括增加美國玉米和大豆的進口、造船方面的技術合作以及修改檢驗進口汽車的標準。

So, while Japan's stance is to demand an elimination of U.S. tariffs in bilateral trade negotiations, a source with knowledge of the negotiations has said that Japan is considering a package of proposals to gain U.S. concessions that may include increased imports of U.S. agricultural products, technical cooperation in shipbuilding, and revision to inspection standards for imported automobiles. Apparently, Japan is an important US ally in Asia, I am interested in knowing how the future agreement will look like.