Japan’s attempt to avoid new US tariffs faces long odds, analysts say, with Tokyo’s request shaping up as a test case for how Washington treats its allies as protectionist measures threaten to reshape global trade dynamics.
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During a meeting between Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday, Iwaya asked that his nation be exempted from the reciprocal tariffs that US President Donald Trump planned to adopt this year.
“I relayed my thoughts to Rubio that Japan should not be one of the countries subject to reciprocal tariffs,” Iwaya said, according to a transcript of the meeting released by Japan’s foreign ministry.
Iwaya also raised the issue of car tariffs and sought exclusion from the 25 per cent tariff the US will levy on imported steel and aluminium products.
His remarks came on the heels of Trump’s order to impose reciprocal tariffs on numerous trading partners as soon as April, raising the prospect of a broader campaign against a global system which he said was tilted against the US.
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Trump has previously railed against Japan’s trade surplus with the US and the weakness of the Japanese yen, which has worsened the imbalance, accusing Japan of taking advantage of Washington.